Mando's Charge
by PonderRose
Summary: Mando accepts an under-the-table commission to capture and bring forth a Force-sensitive woman. There's only one issue: Mando doesn't know what the Force is and why his clients want her delivered to them so badly. A friendship soon blossoms between them, which grows into something more. No Baby Yoda (sorry). MandoxOC. Told from OC's POV. Enjoy!
1. The Foretelling

[Author's Note: Just a heads up to all my lovely readers. I have never watched any of the Star Wars movies save Episode I- The Phantom Menace. I have also never played any of the games, read any of the books, etc. So you'll have to forgive my general lack of Star Wars knowledge.

That being said, I have done my homework, including watching the whole Mandalorian series. Baby Yoda is very precious to me, but he will not make an appearance here. I write love stories and will primarily focus MandoxOC's relationship. I hope you enjoy and are patient with my ignorance of Star Wars lore; I will try to do as much research as possible. Also, I should note that because I've only seen Episode I, Qui-Gon Jinn is my favourite Jedi and the main character will be related to him (great niece).

Thank you for reading and I sincerely hope you enjoy!]

Told from OC's P.O.V.-

I don't know how I wound up on Takodana; maybe my parents thought it would be a good place for me to lay low. Not that I ever met them. The only family I ever met was my great uncle, though maybe "met" isn't the right word. I've always stayed as far away from the castle as I could; I know it serves as an open port for spies and questionable travellers. That being said, I've never had any real issue here. Not yet anyway.

My journey began one afternoon when I was outside in the small valley near the hut where I lived. I usually went there to pick wildflowers and relax after a day of training. While there, a familiar voice caught my ear; it interrupted me softly singing to myself.

"Saoirse." I glanced over my shoulder to see an apparition standing behind me. My lips immediately curled into a smile. "Hello, Master." "How are you fairing, child?" "Good! My training is going well…. even though I don't really know what I'm doing," I replied a bit sheepishly. "Trust the Force. It will guide you, if you only let it." "But I'm still not really sure what the Force is. You said I'm Force-sensitive, but I can't really control… whatever it is I can do." My great uncle grinned and shook his head; his hands were clasped out in front of him. "In time; you will learn in due time, child." "Yes, Master," I nodded. I wasn't a child anymore; I was close to thirty years old. But Master knew best; all the past Jedi knew best.

"I have come to tell you something." "What is it, Master?" I perked up a bit. News- that could be either good or bad. Hopefully good. But judging by the way his grin disappeared, my hopes began to diminish as well. "Do you remember what midi-chlorians is?" "Uh, kinda," I shrugged. "Do you remember when I said you have a high count in your cells? Second only to Anakin?" Anakin, Anakin…. I remember the ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan mentioning that name before, but I had no clue who he was. They didn't tell me anything about the outside universe that wasn't related to my training. Still, I knew Master was expecting an answer, so I nodded my head unthinkingly. He seemed satisfied with this.

"Listen, child. I have come to warn you. Men are searching for you; bad men. They are called the Imperials." "The Imperials?" My eyebrow lifted up. This was the first time anyone as "sought" after me before. "They will stop at nothing until they have you in their possession. Do you understand?" "I… think so? Does this mean I have to leave Takodana?" "You will be taken from here. Do not leave until then; he will find you." "He?" I blinked in surprise. In almost thirty years the only men I've ever met are already dead. It'd be interesting to meet a life one for a change. But only….

"C-can I trust him, Master?" My voice faltered a smidge. My great uncle nodded once more. "He is not aware of the Force, and you are not to tell him. He will protect you, in time. He will also need your healing abilities; what you have been practicing since childhood." "Yes, Master. Only… um, w-what… what do these "Imperials" want with me? What value could I possibly have to them?"

My master was quiet for a moment before lowering his eyes onto mine. "It is not for you to understand- not yet. All you need to know is that they wish to have you alive; this must not happen. You are a healer- you are not a Jedi. You cannot protect yourself against them or their wills for you." "Yes, Master…." He's treating me like a child again. Here I am, a grown woman and they still refuse to tell me anything. I know it's because they care for me and want to keep me safe and innocent. Still…..

Great Uncle grinned tenderly again and rested his hand on my shoulder. "Do not worry, child. I will be with you. Use the Force for good and remember your vow. You will return to Takodana someday." "Thank you, Master," I smiled back up at him. His hand gave me a pat. "I sense the balance between you both; you and Din Djarin." "Who?" He chuckled. "You balance each other. Remember that when you find reason to distrust him." "Wait, you said I could trust him." Master's head shook one last time before he began to fade away. "I am always with you, Saoirse." And with that, he was gone. All I could do was blink several times in utter confusion.

"Din Djarin?"


	2. Helmet Man

I forgot the name Master told me rather quickly. Din something, I think. Who knows? So apparently there's this guy coming to take me away from my home, to deliver me to these Imperial goons, for some unknown reason? Yeah, needless to say I'm more than a little confused about the whole matter.

Still, I knew my great uncle would want me to continue my training. I still don't know what the Force is; Yoda's tried to explain it to me several times before but he's a tad cryptic in his verses. He says I need "to believe" in order to successfully master my abilities. Not sure what I'm supposed to believe- in this magic I have, I guess. Whatever this "Force" is, it allows me to lift objects, control elements like fire, and most importantly, heal wounds and stop poison. That's what I use it primarily for; lifting things is nice but healing is more aligned to my values. Consequently, Yoda says I can never be a Jedi with that mentality- whatever a Jedi is. I guess they do more than merely heal people.

I would find wounded animals in the forests and valleys and try to heal them. I'd been doing this since I was a child and have gotten pretty good at it too, if I do say so myself. The only thing is that I get really tired whenever I use my powers, especially when I use a lot of it. It used to be really bad when I was younger; I'd pass out for days on end. Now that I'm an adult, it's easier- some but not by much. Since I only practice on animals, I don't exert a lot of magic at one time. I'd like to try on big creatures but well, here I am.

For the first couple of days, I was honestly waiting for this Din character to show up. I tried to focus on my training and not get too distracted, but it's not every day you learn you're going to get abducted by a stranger. Nothing happened, however, and after a while I got back into my normal routine. I had just had a bath down by the secluded lake on the faithful day. I had just arrived back in my hut while drying my damp hair with a blue cloth. Part of my mind wanted to go pick flowers this afternoon, but that wouldn't happen. There was a bang from behind me and I turned around.

That's the moment my life fundamentally changed.

The door fell down; not flung open- fell. It had been burned off its hinges. Now that's overkill I'd say. Two figures stood at the doorway. I…. I uh, think they were men. One looked more like a robot, a droid than a human. The other… well human or not, he had on a ton of armour, including a helmet. What? Did he think he was coming to a war zone? They both had guns to boot.

The helmet guy had this tracker thingy in his hand, which beeped loudly the closer he got to me. In all reality I should have been scared; I should have been terrified. And I'll admit, I was a little afraid. But…. I can't really explain it. Master said they'd be coming, and they weren't going to kill me; at least I knew that much. Helmet guy took another step towards me.

"Is this her?" He asked the droid. "Great niece of Qui-Gon Jinn. This is the one," the droid replied in that metallic, dull tone. The helmet guy's head tilted slightly, facing in my direction. "Who are you?" I asked, unsure what to say. I've never been kidnapped before and wasn't quite sure how this whole thing worked.

The droid didn't answer, instead raising his blaster up to me. Whoa, wait! Hold on a minute; I thought they were supposed to take me, not kill me. "Exterminating the target," the droid stated. I didn't even have time to scream before helmet guy stopped the droid's arm. "No. We'll bring her in alive." Huh, this guy…. I watched him curiously. I wonder if he's Din whatever-his-name-is. I think he's a man; he sure sounds like a man. But with that helmet and uniform on, it's hard to be absolutely sure.

"The commission was quite specific. The asset was to be terminated." More guns pointed my way. "W-what are you….?" My arm instinctively rose out in front of me. My eyes winced as I gave a little cry at the sound of a gunshot. When they eventually reopened- once I grasped that it was not me who had been executed- I saw the bot falling to land on the ground. Helmet man lowered his gun which was pointing in the droid's path. It took me a few seconds to realize that he had shot the robot who intended to kill me. He saved me, this helmet-wearing fellow…. _"He will protect you, in time."_ Wait.

His head tilted to one side again as if he was thinking to himself. Then he pointed his gloved finger straight at me. "You. You're coming with me." "O-ok? Um, by any chance, are you….?" My brain stopped my mouth before I could finish my question. I wanted to ask if he was working for or knew who the Imperials were but decided against it. Better not chance it just in case he isn't the man my Master was referring to. He may come along later; this may not be him. Best to wait until I know more about helmet guy over here. Thankfully he didn't take me by the wrist and drag me out of my hut, letting me go on my own volition. Before we left however, I rushed around to gather a few things.

Helmet man paused at the door to gaze back in at me; he acted annoyed. "I'm just getting some things." "Pack light. We've got a way to go." "Yeah, where are we going, by the way?" I blinked back at him curiously. He stared at me for a moment as if he didn't know what to make of my question. "That's none of your business," he finally replied. I frowned but didn't press it further, continuing to collect my things into a pack. He observed me in a sort of puzzled fashion for a couple of minutes, folding his arms.

"Aren't you going to try and run away?" "What?" My head perked up. "You're just going to let me take you like this? Without fighting back?" His arms fell down at his sides. "Oh! Yes," I continued my packing. This appeared to confuse him ever more. "That's strange, for a lone, young woman like you." "Well, there's really no point in resisting. I knew this was coming, so I might as well…" "Hold on. You knew?" Uh oh, I straightened up, not daring to look him in the eye. _"He is not aware of the Force, and you are not to tell him."_ What should I say now? How do I explain myself? Ugh, why can't I just tell him? What's wrong with him knowing about the Force? Not like I can explain it to him anyway.

Trying to act as calmly and naturally as possible, I merely shrugged and finished up my packing. "O-oh, nothing. I… I uh… I-I'm a pacifist, you see. So there's really nothing I can do if you're gonna abduct me anyway. Not like I can resist or anything." Did he buy it? Nugh, I can't tell what he's thinking with that bloody helmet on! He looked at me for another minute before turning away. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was feeling a bit awkward right now. His feet shifted back towards the entrance to the hut. "Hurry up." "Almost done!" I took one last look around the place. Welp! Here I go, into space for the first time. Master said I'd be back someday, so I knew this wasn't goodbye forever. When that someday came however, I had no clue.

Helmet guy quietly observed as I threw my pack over my shoulder and spun to face him. "Ready," I announced. Without another word, he led me outside, away from the droid still laying lifeless on the floor. I watched the hut as it disappeared into the distance. I stared until it was out of sight, and I said a silent farewell to my childhood home. It's not like I needed to stay anyway. The spirits of the three previous Jedi could find me anywhere, so leaving this planet didn't mean leaving my masters. My eyes slowly reverted back to the masked guy walking ahead of me. Now there's just him to figure out.


	3. The First Attack

My eyes kept reverting back to the helmet man currently kidnapping me. He hadn't said a word since we left my hut; he just kept walking out in front of me in a stoic fashion. Meanwhile I tottled along behind him curious if I was doing this whole "abduction" thing right. Now I know that might sound utterly insane but hear me out. Master told me that this day was coming and that I would someday return to Takodana. I trusted my great uncle whole-heartedly. Thus, I knew that this helmet-wearing rogue- if he is a rogue- wouldn't kill me. That much was certain at least. Comprehending that, I was more curious and puzzled by him than afraid of him. So many questions swirled around inside my head: why didn't he take off his helmet; where did he come from; what did he get for delivering me to god knows where?

I kicked the ground with my foot, unsure what to say and if I should say it. He didn't seem too interested in talking to me. I peered up at him from the corner of my eye again. This time he caught me as his head turned ever so slightly to the side. I watched him, wanting some answers to my mountain of questions. But instead my lips stayed shut and I glanced straight forward. We were entering a dusty, rocky terrain- one I never visited. It's not that I was afraid of this place; it's only…. Actually, never mind; I am scared of this place.

The ground wasn't totally smooth; it was enviable that I was going to trip on a rock that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. I stumbled forward like an idiot, only for my feet stable me seconds later. I glanced up and saw helmet man looking my way; he had stopped momentarily too. When it was clear I was alright, he started walking again and I took that as my cue to follow him.

So strange. Master said he and I balanced each other. What does that even mean? He won't even talk to me; never mind "balance" me. And I have no clue how I could possibly offer him any balance. I guess I was too busy considering this to pay attention to our surroundings. If I had, I would have noticed how close to the castle we were getting; somewhere Master forbade me from going.

I only paused again once helmet man did. To my surprise he stopped and glanced upwards to the side. My curiosity got the better of me as now seemed like the perfect time to talk to him. "What's wrong?" I heard fall from my lips. He didn't reply, instead electing to scan around attentively. It was quiet for a moment- too quiet. But my nerves suddenly shot up when his hand reached for his gun. Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on? What is he doing?

My question was answered within seconds. Some man- though I doubt he was human- leapt out of nowhere with an axe in his hands. He also had one of those beepers on him which went crazy whenever he was near me. Without hesitation, helmet man pushed me away from the pair- hard. He shoved me so hard in fact that I went flying across the gorge, landing in the red dust afar. I blinked up while still in shock to witness helmet man and the new guy fighting. This creep was trying- and failing- to strike helmet man with his blunt axe.

To my horror, another creature who looked just like the first one soon joined the battle; none of the men were paying any great attention to me. This gave me a brief moment to consider. Now what? What should I do? I can't fight, and I have to honour my vow. So I won't be any help to helmet man that way. But I have a sneaking suspicion that they're after me; they both have those red blinking trackers- the same I saw earlier at the hut. If I stay, they'll keep fighting… But trying to run might not help anything either. Still, I can't just lay here and do nothing. I can at least get them away from helmet man; once I'm back in the forest, I'll be able to evade these freaks. I'm familiar enough with forest terrain. Plus there's two of them and one helmet man…..

Having already decided, I hopped right to my feet. This grabbed none of their attention, but all eyes were certainly on me when I began to run away. My arms waved back and forth at my sides as my feet carried me as fast as possible. "You're not going anywhere!" One of the creeps roared at me. I think he was intending to throw his axe at me, but helmet man stopped him; I didn't see. And I would have kept on going if the sound of helmet man electrocuting one freak ground my mad scrambling to a halt. My eyes peered over my shoulder to see one of the remaining monsters charging at me while hollering; his axe was raised high above his head.

Before he could reach me, helmet man shot him- and by "shot" I mean disintegrate. There once moment, gone the next. My wide eyes gawked at helmet man bewildered. He gazed back at me, slowly lowering his weapon and trailing his stare to the tracker now on the ground. After seeing what he was looking at, I bent down to pick it up. It was beeping like mad now.

"What is it?" I asked, glancing back at my abductor. He responded by marching up to me and holding out his hand expectantly. "Give it to me." I looked at him for a moment before doing as commanded. Helmet man gave it a once over, then tossed it down and broke it with his foot. My eyes slowly rolled back up to his covered head, very confused by now. "Who were they?" My voice was quieter this time.

Helmet man stared back at me for another minute before continuing his trek down the sandy path. "Let's go," was all he told me. I watched him, waiting a second to lag behind; making sure to take one last look at the ravine before we left it completely.


	4. The First Night

I couldn't ignore my stomach rumbling forever. Usually I was eating two or three times a day. And here I was, almost a full day without so much as a drop of a water. I suppose helmet man knew it was time to call it a night when he finally stopped in the middle of nowhere. He sat down and turned to face me. I frowned at him.

"So….?" "What?" "So, how does this work?" I asked a bit impatiently; I was more than a little hangry. "How does what work?" Helmet man finally inquired, setting his gun down at his side. "Well…. not to sound ignorant on the whole kidnapping thing but aren't you at least supposed to feed me or something?" "You're not a child." "No, I'm a woman you abducted from her home. I have no idea how to find food out here; and don't get me started on water."

Helmet man sighed like he was exhausted. He's tired? "If you're hungry, you must fend for yourself," he then told me in an exasperated tone. I rolled my eyes. I mean I'm not sure what's even edible around here; if I can find anything, that is. Realizing that food wasn't part of this kidnapping deal, I went to search for some berries or something. I didn't go far, though I could feel his eyes on me from time to time. It took me a long time to find some water in the dark; forget about food.

After a while of combing and finding nothing but a few mouth-fulls of water, I returned to the fire helmet man had now built. I got back just in time to catch him doing something to his arm; there was apparently a scratch on it I'd never seen over. I don't know what he was trying to do- whatever it was, it looked and sounded painful. Realizing that he was injured, however, set my healing instincts into drive. He paused for a moment as I approached him gazing down at his arm.

"What are you doing?" He asked as I knelt down beside him. "You're hurt," I stated matter-of-factly. His eye train rolled down to the bloody wound. "It's nothing. Go find yourself some food," he tried to shoo me away. Too bad I was too concentrated on his arm. I raised my right hand up without thinking, ready to touch it when all of a sudden, my brain stopped me dead in my tracks.

Wait, what am I doing? I can't use my Force healing; he doesn't know what the Force is, and I'm not supposed to tell him. How could explain myself if I healed his wound right now? Still, I can't do nothing….. He's hurt; I can't not help him in some way or form. That's when I got an idea.

Helmet man merely observed perplexed as I proceeded to tear off the bottom end of my shirt. "Here," I wrapped it around the wound on his arm. Now, we both knew that wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing. It would have to do until I could consult Master or Yoda about which herbal remedies to mix up and apply. Nugh, life would be so much easier if he only knew about the Force and its healing abilities.

Of course, he didn't appear at all impressed by this. "That won't do anything," he said in his classic stoic voice. "It'll have to do until I find something better," I shrugged, leaning back from him. "I don't need your help," helmet man then claimed. A small smile grew across my lips as I continued looking at him. "I know…."

This seemed to fluster helmet man momentarily as he glanced at the light in a thoughtful manner. "Did you eat anything?" He eventually asked me. "No, I couldn't find anything. Just some water," I let out a sigh. When he didn't reply, I turned to face him again. "What about you? Are you hungry or thirsty?" A pregnant pause proceeded. "I'll eat later." "Ok," I peered at the light as well. If he says so….

Ok, the silence was starting to get to me. He didn't have to talk about himself, so long as he spoke about anything. I stole a peak at helmet man through the corner of my eyes once more. What a resigned fellow…. "Can I ask you something?" I inquired. "No." Yeah right; like that's gonna stop me. "Can you at least tell me where we're going?" "You'll find out soon enough." Ugh. "Is it far from here?" "A ways." "Will it take us long to get there?" "No more questions." "But you literally haven't told me anything. Do you even have a ship?" "Not yet." I huffed and threw up my hands. He was going to tell me diddly squat. Some balancing act this was.

Things only got worse and more awkward when my stomach thought now was the perfect time to rumble again- loudly. This time helmet man heard it and he glanced my way; I silently stared back at him while holding my stomach. It was as if he was contemplating the situation to himself at the moment. To my mild surprise, he peered down at the bandage on his arm briefly. He sighed to himself, glancing out into nowhere. Then, to my greater shock, he got up and rolled his hands into fists. I blinked up at him puzzled but didn't say anything.

"Stay here. I'll find you something to eat." "Y-you will?!" I gasped startled. "Just stay put. I won't go far," he instructed before setting off into the night. True to his word, he remained close enough for me to watch him, or at least the outline of his person. All the while, I stayed close to the flames while hugging my knees into my chest. He's an odd one, this helmet man. One moment he's telling me to fend for myself, and the next he's forging for food. I guess I'm his precious target and it would be bad if I starved on his hands. The world's smallest grin rolled naturally across my lips as I continued to passively observe. Still….. There's always a "still" when it comes to him I'm slowlys discovering.


	5. Kuiil

I knew exactly where we were when the castle came into view over the horizon. As I wavered a bit unnervingly, helmet man scouted out a broken ship- I don't know if it was abandoned here by one of the unsavoury characters now near the castle or not. "Stay here," he told me as he went aboard with his gun drawn. Stay here? Stay here?! In the middle of Danger Land? Ok, ok, calm down; I made myself breathe deeply. I'm gonna survive; I'm gonna survive. Just keep calm and do as he says. I'm not going to die here.

While he was inside, trying to get the thing to work I'd imagine, I wandered aimlessly around nearby outside. My foot kept kicking small rocks on the ground, bored out of my skull. Master said he'd be taking me somewhere; not that this would be the universe's more boring kidnapping. Helmet man soon emerged and sighed. His head spun my way and I blinked. "No luck?" "No. Let's go," he began to lead me away from the sight. I took one last at the machine before following suit.

We walked until the sun was setting again and a small hut with a windmill came into sight. Outside it was this shortish, odd-looking man working on a pole; he didn't even glance our way upon our arrival.

"I thought you were dead." Who, me? I automatically assumed he was talking to me, or I did until he turned around to look down at us. His eyes went from helmet man onto me, where they only widened. "Well now, what have we here?" He asked while staring straight at me astonished.

"Where'd you find her?" This new guy asked helmet man as if I wasn't even present. "The other side of the forest," helmet man replied as he worked on some gadget attached to his arm. "The forest, you say? You been living there long?" New man finally turned to face me again. I nodded. "It's the only place I remember living." "Strange; very strange. What's your name, child?" "Uh, Saoirse." That's when I noticed helmet man eying me once more; he stopped once he realized I was gazing his way and went back to his tinkering.

"Saoirse, huh? She looks healthy enough," he then told helmet man as he tottled away from me. Uh, excuse me? I'm standing right here. When helmet man didn't say anything, new guy saw fit to continue. "Odd that one little girl could cause such a fuss. But luckily for you, she's young and strong. Best to deliver her alive." I frowned; they literally don't care that I can hear them.

"My ship has been destroyed. I'm trapped here." "Stripped; not destroyed," new guy fetched helmet man a tool for his wrist-thingy. "Stripped or destroyed; it makes no difference to me." "You can trade." "At the castle? Are you out of your mind?" This made me perk up. Going to the castle? This sounds like something I should consult Master on first. "I will take you to the castle; I know someone there who can help. I have spoken." Ok, no. I agreed to obey my master and be "abducted"; not dragged to a forbidden castle. That would conflict with their orders.

Both men blinked in my direction as I turned to face them head on. "No, I'm not going to the castle. You go; I'll stay here." "No," helmet man completely shot me down. "I'm not supposed to go there, a-and… and besides, it's dangerous." "It's dangerous for you to stay here by yourself," helmet man retorted. "I have nothing to protect myself with," my hand rose up to my chest. "I will handle everything. You just stay where I can see you." I frowned, growing ever so more annoyed.

This is when new guy peered back at helmet man. "You haven't told her where you're taking her, have you?" "Why should I?" My abductor shot back. "Heh, trust me, child. You have a lot more to concern yourself with than a mere castle," the new guy glanced my way once more. This seemed to upset helmet man, him saying this. He didn't say anything, but I could tell by the slight motions of his helmet from new guy to me. That's the first time I began to feel apprehension about this whole thing. Master said I'd make it out alive; that doesn't mean I'll make it out unharmed.

Seeing the sudden worry in my expression, new guy took a few steps towards me. "By the by, who told you to stay away from the castle?" "Huh?" My shoulders perked up. "You said that you're not supposed to go to the castle. Who told you that?" Oh great, now helmet man is staring interestedly too. I inwardly rolled my eyes while trying to construct a suitable response in my mind. "Oh, uh….. uh… It's just a rule I remember from childhood. I figured it was there for a good reason, so I always followed it." He nodded, but I wasn't sure he was entirely satisfied with my answer. Instead, to shift the conversation away from all that, I leaned in a bit closer to him in a friendly manner.

"What's your name?" "My name? Kuiil." "Kuiil….. Hello, Kuiil," I smiled at him for the first time. We shook hands, him acting a bit surprised by the show of civility. Then we both glanced back to helmet man. "And him? Do you know his name yet?" "No. He hasn't told me," I replied, not taking my eyes off helmet man, who's arms were crossed now. "Hm, he wouldn't. He's a Mandalorian." "What's that?" My eyebrow raised. "What he's doing with you. For your purposes, he's a bounty-hunter." "That's not what Mandalorians are," the Mandalorian huffed. "That's what you are now," Kuiil fired. The Mandalorian didn't reply, though I could still tell he was clearly annoyed.

Not too concerned with that, Kuiil then spun around to see me again. I swore I saw my first hint of a smile from him hidden in the corner of his mouth. "You'll have to be patient with him, Saoirse. He's a hardened warrior; he's not used to handling cargo heh, like you."


	6. Takodana Castle

The Mandalorian gave me a dark blue cloak with a large hood to wear in the castle. I'd lived on Takodana my whole life and never once step foot on castle grounds. Kuiil explained to me along the way that it was now a main hall for travellers, smugglers, and the like. It was right on the edge of a large body of water called Nymeve Lake. The castle was big and imposing, but I'll admit I was a smidge curious to see what the inside would look like. Not curious enough however, to disobey my masters. "Please don't be mad, Master," I whispered to myself once we reached the gate.

The Mandalorian led the way into the edifice with Kuiil following right behind and me lagging at the rear. I couldn't stop looking all around at all the banners and stands. This was the most people- as well as other creatures- I'd ever been around before. My escorts seemed to know where they were going, so I tagged along with them. Though the vendors and stalls admittedly caught more of my attention than it should have.

Now, I'm so ignorant to the ways of civilization that I had no clue what was going on. I knew about money- though I never had any myself- and I knew about bartering. There were lots of pretty things at many stalls I wanted to see closer and admire, but I knew I couldn't take anything from here. I simply wandered and observed in an admiring though detached sense.

I don't know how famous or well-known Mandalorians are, but for some reason we were grabbing a lot of attention as we walked through the great hall. If I had been paying closer attention, I would have realized that all eyes drifted towards me after initially spotting the Mandalorian. I, however, was distracted with the stalls and their different wears. There were also the odd child or baby hanging around that I couldn't help but coo at. I had a soft spot for young things.

"Awe, a baby!" My hands clasped together excitedly at the sight of a creature-like infant. Both Kuiil and the Mandalorian paused to turn back to me, only for the Mandalorian to sigh and Kuiil to grin ever so slightly. We continued on until I got distracted at one particular vendor selling exotic flowers. I absolutely loved flowers; I would go out to gather a bouquet of them just to have at home all the time. My escorts stopped once again right as I was sniffing one of the prettier, pink varieties; an organic smile blooming across my face.

Kuiil watched me for a moment. I was surprised when he then came over to my side. He took out these weird metal block rectangles, which I assumed to be currency, and handed it to the vendor. "For the girl," Kuiil said to him. Without my comprehending what was happening, he plucked one of the flowers I'd been smelling and held it out for me. "T-thank you," I faltered, taking it from him. This confused the Mandalorian more than me, as shown by his mild tilt of the head as he turned to Kuiil. Kuill glanced back at him and waved his hand up and down dismissively. "Ah, let her have a little happiness while she still can." Wait, what does he mean by that? Confused and somewhat alarmed, I trailed behind them clutching the stem of the pink blossom in my hand.

A shadier tented stall rested at the end of the great hall; the section where the ahem, scarier characters resided. I got more and more nervous the further in we went. Kuiil brought us to the tent; he and the Mandalorian didn't hesitate to go inside. Me, on the other hand… I wavered at the front of the text flap hoping to stay out of sight and attention of whoever was the vendor. The trader inside was a hooded fellow who looked rather….. threatening; there's no other way to put it. He also had a smaller employee there with him who glanced at my escorts, then at me.

They spoke in a language I didn't understand. Kuiil approached the main vendor with his arms up in the air; the Mandalorian right behind him. The vendor said something to Kuiil. "He is willing to trade all the parts you need," he translated to the Mandalorian. "I'm not going to trade anything. My parts were stolen, likely by him," the Mandalorian pointed at the vendor angrily. They then both spoke in that unknown language again; the vendor must have said something offence to the Mandalorian because he was laughing about it seconds later. "You understand this?!" My heart leapt into my throat as the Mandalorian yanked out his blaster. Thankfully Kuiil stopped him before he could anything he would regret. "Easy, easy," he tried to calm the helmet-wearing man.

It was around this time that the vendor's helper took a keen interest in me. He waddled over to me and proceeded to grab a few strands of my hair. Meanwhile the others kept discussing in their strange language before the vendor finally noticed me. He stopped, flinched upwards, said something and pointed right at me. Both men peered over their shoulders to see the two of us; me trying to get him to let go of my hair. "Get away from her!" The Mandalorian commanded to his helper in a tone I'd never heard from him before. A protective tone.

The helper immediately flinched and scuttled away from where I was standing. Hey, wait; I bet that creep just asked if I was up for trade. The nerve! Kuiil kept speaking with his hands now out at his sides imploringly. The vendor considered for a moment, rubbing his thumb underneath his chin. He then said something which seemed to upset Kuiil and confuse the Mandalorian. "The egg? What egg?" The latter asked the former. Then, quite surprisingly, they both glanced back at me with concerned expressions- well, at least I could tell Kuiil's was mildly worried. "What are you going to do about her?" He inquired all while looking my way.


	7. The Force For Good

"Why didn't you just leave me with Kuiil? We didn't have to stay at the castle if it was dangerous, but did I really need to come with you?" I asked as I was being dragged yet again on another goose chase by the Mandalorian. I could practically hear his eyes roll inside his helmet. "We've been over this. You're staying with me- end of discussion." My god. "Wouldn't it be safer for me back there?" "You're safest with me," he retorted. "You don't trust Kuiil to keep me safe?" "I don't trust anyone with my target." Oh yeah, that's right; I'm a "target". Can't forget that- insert eyeroll here.

Neither of us said anything else until we reached this cave some time later. "Stay here," the Mandalorian instructed before hesitantly approaching it. For a moment, nothing happened. Something must have been inside the cave judging the way he touched all the weapons on his person. He pulled out his gun and stepped towards the darkness. Oh yeah; this is safe. My abductor left me out here all alone in god knows where, without anything to defend myself I might add. I took the opportunity to assess my situation for like the millionth time.

Why am I letting him kidnap me and tug me around like this? I know Master told me this was coming, but does that mean I was just meant to be submissive and passive to everything? My abductor makes it aggressively clear that his protection is not optional- I'm his precious bounty. It doesn't help either that I'm submissive by nature. Yoda said that's a good thing as it makes me an exceptional student; despite my not being sure how to "believe" in the Force. I've always been quite obedient; my masters tell me what to do and I do it without question or objection. It's not that I'm blinding, mindlessly following them either. On the contrary, they've never given me a reason not to trust them; everything they've told me and taught me as been for my own good. Why would I disobey them? Aside from feeling unnatural to me, it also seems illogical since they're looking out for my welfare. Obeying them felt like the rational thing to do.

But what about now? All my great uncle told me is that someone named Din something-or-another was going to come and take me. That, and I was going to survive the ordeal; oh, and not to tell him about the Force. He never said anything about me passively letting him take me or drag me around all over the planet. I didn't even know if the Mandalorian was this Din character; he might not be for all I know. Perhaps Din what's-his-name is supposed to snatch me away from him. It's possible. Or maybe the Mandalorian is Din last-name-here. Who knows?

I kicked the ground with my foot a little. "Could you give me a sign?" I asked out into open air, hoping one of my masters' apparitions would appear. Nothing, unfortunately for me. But I wasn't done yet. I'd keep trying, if only in vain; hell, it made me feel better. "A hint? Anything? Just tell me what I'm supposed to do. Please, great uncle? Master Obi-Wan? Master Yoda? Hello? Anyone listening? Anyone?" Still nothing. Gees, how can I have three ghost guardian Jedi and have no idea what I'm doing? That should be impossible. Heh, or maybe this is some sort of lesson I've got to figure out on my own; it wouldn't be the first time. Just hope I don't miss the point of the lesson if that is the case.

I peered back into the blackness of the tunnel. He's been in there for a while now; a while meaning two minutes. If I wanted to make a run for it, this would be the perfect time. I guess he just trusted me to do as I'm told and wait here for him. It didn't help that I had no clue where we were either. Even if I did try to escape, I would have no idea what to do next. And besides, my best guess at what Master said to me is that I'm not supposed to run; not yet anyway. Nugh! I love them so much, don't get me wrong. But why do those Jedi have to be so damn cryptic all the time? Why can't they just outright say "do this" or "go there"? It would make my life as their student a hell of a lot easier.

The sudden sound and red glow of a gun firing made me jump. I don't know who else was in the cave, but I'd be willing to bet that the Mandalorian was shooting at something. Oh great; more killing. My eyes did widen however at a very loud roar and the sight of my abductor being tossed out like a bag of trash. He fell onto his back on the ground, which honestly sounded and looked rather painful.

I instantly want to run to him, try to help him and check if he's injured, but the Mandalorian held up his hand at me. "Stay back!" He yelled without looking my way. That's when this huge animal with a very long and pointy horn stomped out of the black, looking quite perturbed and ready to attack. I gasped in utter horror as the Mandalorian got his deteriorator out and aimed it at the creature. Oh….. oh no; nope! Not happening in front of me! My feet ground into the dirt as my hand reached out to him.

"No! Don't, stop! It's an animal! It's an innocent animal!" My plea was totally ignored; he fiddled with this thankfully busted gun. The creature roared a couple of times and I knew that I had to intervene least one of them die in front of me. I know Master told me not to tell the Mandalorian about the Force…. but he never said I couldn't use it, especially to save a life.

The animal charged, knocking the now standing Mandalorian far away once more. Alright! Here's my opportunity to get in between them. Don't ask me why I was suddenly overcome with the desire to protect my kidnapper, and it's against my vows to kill anything. I'm a healer- that's all. While he struggled to move, I darted in front of him protectively without a game plan in mind. My arms shot out at my sides, trying to block the animal's view of helmet man.

To my astonishment, the creature breathed loudly but didn't directly charge at me; merely stood there looking at me for a moment. That moment of nonaggression didn't last too long, however. Within a minute, it was charging for me like a ship on warp speed. The only consolation this gave me was the fact it wouldn't hurt the Mandalorian this time. I may not be physically strong but that doesn't exclude me from being protective.

I guess I wasn't paying any attention to the man behind me though as I soon felt myself being tackled to the ground off to the side. This effectively led the animal smashing his head against a large bolder nearby; he was running too fast to stop. The Mandalorian, who had his armoured arm over me, got up and rushed to the side in seconds; I think he wanted to draw all attention away from me this time. Welp! That's not gonna happen. Heh, irony: I want to protect him while he's doing everything he can to defend me. This should be easy to figure out, but it's not.

"Ok! No killing! No killing! It's just a scared animal! Don't kill it!" Of course, just like last time, my begging was ignored. Man, he's like he took a vow opposing mine. While I can never kill- even in self-defence- he should at least never kill unless it's absolutely necessary. Wait… My eyes scrolled down to my open palms, then out into nowhere. It's not necessary; I can save both. Well, I can try anyway. After all, isn't this what all my training has been for these past thirty years?

After being dragged around a bit by a piece of wire, the animal flung the Mandalorian by its horn once more. This time the Mandalorian stayed down; I think his body had taken a real beating. My protective instinct kicked into gear as he rolled agonizingly onto his side. He reached for a mere short blade to hold up, which would do nothing. That was when I saw another chance. I didn't hesitate to get between them once more and raise up my right hand. My eyes closed in concentration. Concentrate, concentrate…. You can do this. Just concentrate; save the Mandalorian. Save the man and the animal; you can do it. This is what you are meant to do- you save lives. That is your role in the universe. My eyes winced shut as I tried to focus harder. Your role….

I didn't have to look to know what was happening. The roars grew quiet while all stomping disappeared. I didn't open my eyes to see the creature floating in the air or the Mandalorian gawking at me in sheer amazement and confusion. Admittedly this was one of the largest objects I've used the Force to lift; it was really draining on my system. My hand started to tremble as my knees began to quake. Save the Mandalorian; save him…

"R-run! Get away! Get…. away…." I managed to get out before my internal vision got blurry. The world around me grew deaf; I was progressively losing all feeling in my limbs. The world was becoming a dark, noiseless place for me. The last thing I remember was all sensation disappearing from my hand as I continued to hold it up in front of me. My mind drifted slowly yet steadily off to a familiar setting. Somewhere far, far away….

"_Master! Look at all the pretty flowers!" Master Obi-Wan Kenobi's spirit watched as eight-year-old me merrily gathered a bouquet of little pink blossoms. His eyes lowered onto me gently. "You like them?" "Oh, yes! I love flowers," I replied, unaware that a lesson was about to take place. We were by a small warm pond beside the blossom tree. _

_Obi-Wan bent over to pluck one flower off the ground; one I dropped earlier. He inspected it thoughtfully. "It's interesting to consider. Something so beautiful with such a short time in the universe." "Master?" I blinked back at him, not sure what he meant by that. He merely kept staring at the blossom in his fingers. "Look here, child. This flower is just like you, and even me; back when I was alive. It is radiant now but soon enough, it will wilt away and fade- just like all the others. Its energy will go back into the universe, and the cycle will continue itself." When I didn't say anything, he gazed at me. "Do you see? All living things are like this little flower. Nothing is permanent; everything is constantly in flux. Good, bad; motion, stillness. It must be this way for all life to continue; this flower must die to make way for new blossoms next year._ _Do you understand?" I unthinkingly nodded in a slow fashion, which revealed that I didn't understand at all. _

_My master gave a single chuckle to himself and handed me the flower. I took it and he placed his hand on my shoulder. Our eyes locked for a moment. "Embrace the transience of life, Saoirse. Only then will you be able to use the Force without fear. Understand that life- all life- is impermanent. Try as you might, there is nothing you can do to change that." _

_I considered this for a moment, or as much as a child's brain could process something as deep as this. My tiny finger went up to press on my lip in a thoughtful fashion. "But… I thought you said to value all life." "I did, and you are to. You must understand that all life is equally temporary. While some may live longer than others, no one lives forever. That is why you must value all life and use the Force for good," his eyes narrowed, and he gave my shoulder a squeeze. "You were born to use your gift to heal; never to harm. Your great uncle's last student did not understand that, and the galaxy paid dearly for it." "Master….." My eyes shown up at him. _

_Without consciousness, my gaze shifted down to the flower in my hand next. Master Obi-Wan saw but didn't interrupt my clear train of thought. I pondered for another minute to myself. "These flowers are going to die soon….?" "Embrace their transience, child." "B-but they're not dead yet. Is there anything I can do to keep them alive…. for a bit longer?" I shyly asked. His eyes shown down at me for a second before he smiled. He straightened up, still grinning tenderly and pointing to the pond. "If you put them in water…" _

_I didn't have to be told twice. As quick as my little arms could, I gathered up all the picked flowers in sight and brought them over to the water. My dead master quietly observed as I carefully dropped them onto the surface, taking extra care not to get the petals wet. That was the first day I started collecting flowers whenever I left the hut and returning with a bouquet ready for water. I know what Obi-Wan was trying to teach me with hindsight, and it worked more or less. It must have because soon after we had this talk, I took my vow to never kill a living thing. And for the sake of my healing abilities and power to use the Force, I kept that vow. _

That was the last thing I remembered before everything- memory and consciousness of the external reality- went completely black.


	8. The Topic of Din

The first thing to hit my five senses was the sounds of mechanical beeping and the low flashing lights of a switchboard. I groaned softly as my hand rose up to touch my head. Oh, I passed out again; I must have exerted my body too hard back there. My eyes took their time to flutter open. It all started coming back to me. The kidnapping, the animal with the large horn, the desert setting….. the Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian? My eyes opened wide and I made myself sit up a little; just enough to see where I was and what was going on. Now the beeping and blinking lights made sense; I think I was on a ship. My abductor was sitting in a chair in front of the steering wheel in front of me. It took me a second to realize that I was laying on a cot with a blanket covering me near the back of the room. The pink flower Kuiil bought me was resting at my bedside.

I suppose he must have heard me shift around since the Mandalorian spun his helmeted head around to face me; he didn't take his hands off the controls in front of him. I looked at him with concrete eyes. "How are you feeling?" He inquired. "Better. Where are we?" "Currently in the middle of space," he pressed a button. I glanced out the front window ponderingly; this was my first time in space, after all. "I see…" That's when it hit me. I scanned around to him- and only him in the room.

"Where's Kuiil?" "He stayed on Takodana." "Oh," my eyes lowered; I had hoped to say goodbye to him. After observing me for a moment, the Mandalorian stood up and went to one side of the room. I curiously watched him grab something in both hands and bring them to me. "Eat," he held out what appeared to be bread and a cup of water for me to take. Of course this caused me to blink up at him in surprise. When he didn't back down, I proceeded to grab; but I didn't consume it yet. Instead I continued to stare at him perplexed and he went to sit back down. "Uh, what is….?" "You need to eat," he replied when I didn't finish my question. Sounds good to me. "T-thank you."

I got up, nibbling on the bread and strolling over to the switch board. The Mandalorian peered my way slightly before turning his attention back to the ship's controls. He pressed a few more buttons before glancing at me again. "How'd you do that? Back there, what'd you do?" "What do you mean?" I took a sip of my water. "You know what I mean. The magic or whatever it is you used to lift that Mudhorn. What was that?"

"Hmmmmmm," I considered for a moment while taking another bite of bread. This may be my opportunity. He's always refusing to answer any of my questions, and now he wants some information from me. And while I can't exactly tell him the truth, but I could use this to my advantage. I grinned a bit, glancing at him while swirling my water gently. "I'll answer your question, if you answer one for me." Oh, the look I'm sure he was shooting me behind his helmet; I had to stifle a bigger grin. He did not act impressed- not at all. Still, I stuck to my guns and folded my arms in a playful fashion.

"I won't ask any questions about the helmet." Oh, the sigh he gave; it took everything I had not to laugh. "Fine. One question," his head tore away from me. I inwardly smiled in victory. "Ok, where are you from?" "Pick another question," he groaned. Heh, oh boy; this shouldn't be as much fun as it is. "Alright. How old are you?" "Pick another." "Uh, have you always been a bounty hunter?" "Ask me something else." "Fine. What's your name? Can I at least know your name?" He hesitated for a moment. "Mando. You can call me Mando." "Mando…." I repeated. That's not Din what's-his-name, but then, Mando might not be his real name either.

"Now it's your turn," Mando's head darted in my direction. Ok, I didn't really think this one through. Here it goes! "I…. was born with the ability to…. move things. I don't do it often because it really drains me, but I can." He thought about what I said for a second. "How?" "I don't know. I can just do it." "Is that all you can do?" "Uh….?" I hesitated. Should I tell him about my healing factor? How would I tie that into levitation? If only he knew about the Force…

"For now," I decided to grin at him, hoping he'd drop the topic. Mando eyed me for a minute, then turned back to his controls. I took my last sip of water while he pressed yet another button. This time a hologram of a man- this one not wearing a helmet- appeared from up the board. His hands were on his hips and he looked like a rather serious guy. "Mando. I received your transmission; wonderful news. Upon your return, deliver the quarry directly to the client. I have no idea if he wants to eat her or keep her as a slave….."

Mando had the good sense to shut it off at this point. I blinked to him alarmed. That hologram was talking about me! Who's going to eat or enslave me? Just where is taking me to exactly? "Who was that?" I asked, not holding back any venom in my tone. Mando didn't even give me a glance. But I wasn't done yet; oh no. My hands went straight on my hips. "Where are we going exactly?" "You'll see soon enough." "You're bringing me in for a bounty, aren't you?" He sighed but didn't deny it. This gave me an idea- a new tactic, that is.

I looked forward out into the blackness with tons of tiny dots scattered over. My arms folded so I could lean on the switch board comfortably. "This is my first time ever flying in space. I can't get over how vast everything is out here. And so many stars….." My eyes lowered gently before going on. "Was it stupid of me? To let you take me without even putting up a fight? I just did what I thought I should. But now I'm not sure what that even was. Heh, maybe I'm a moron who doesn't have a clue. I wish I knew what I was doing….."

Mando didn't reply verbally but judging by the slight, gentle motions of his helmet, I could tell he was paying attention intently. I grinned at him before peering out of the window. "I hope Din whoever finds me soon," I let fall from my lips. "What did you say?" The Mandalorian's head rapidly jerked my way. I blinked a bit startled by the severity and stun in his tone. "Huh? Oh. Well you remember before when I said I knew this was coming- I knew that I was going to be kidnapped? Someone told me. They said that someone named Din uh… I can't remember his last name, but I was going to meet this Din person. I think he's a person," I felt the need to tack on.

For some reason, Mando was acting all flustered and reserved upon hearing this. Maybe he knew this Din character; he knew, and I wasn't supposed to know. Oops. "Who told you that?" He quite suddenly demanded. "Oh, uh… I can't really say," I also fumbled a little now too. "Tell me," he pressed and after a moment of staring at his helmet, I felt compelled to give him some sort of satisfactory answer. "My great uncle; he kind of…. well, he sort of can tell the future. Aspects of it anyway," my gaze turned back to the dark, endless surrounding in front of us.

Mando considered this for a minute, also looking forward. "What else did he tell you? Your great uncle?" "Nothing. Oh, wait a minute! He said something about these "Imperials". I have no idea who they are though; he wouldn't tell me," he doesn't tell me much about the outside world at all. When Mando didn't utter even a word here, I let out a wistful sigh; my cheek rested on my palm. "For whatever reason, they're apparently searching for me. Great uncle said they'll stop at nothing until they have me in their possession. He didn't tell me anything about this Din man either, other than he was coming for me as well at some point. I'm not sure if he's connected to the Imperials or not, but I don't think so." "Why not?" He spoke for the first time in minutes. "Because my great uncle said I could trust him. He said something about balance? Not that I understood what he meant. All I know is that the man who raised me told me that I could trust him. Heh, even if he acts untrustworthily."

Mando got real quiet again, allowing me the opportunity to examine his helmet again. He could be Din last-name-here, but judging by his reaction, I doubt it. He seems more upset that I know about this Din man in the first place. Maybe they're sworn enemies, or even friends. Master never told me that he would be the one to take me from Takodana. Din whatever-his-name is will probably rescue me from whoever Mando is selling me too. Speaking of which…..

"You wouldn't happen to be bringing me to the Imperials, would you?" The Mandalorian merely, wordlessly looked at me. I grinned in comprehension, nodding my head a little. I then straightened up and turned to go lay back on the cot. But before I left, I flashed him one more small smile. "Don't worry; I won't tell Din that you were the one to bring me in. I'll do my best to forget all about you once you leave me. You've been a good kidnapper, all things considered. Plus revenge isn't my style." With that, I went to lay back down and get some more rest before we landed again.


	9. Mando's Great Sin

Mando had been acting really weird since our talk earlier; well, weirder than usual. I had a nap on the cot, only to be woken up once we landed on an unfamiliar planet- unfamiliar to me anyway. Mando was stone-cold silent, guiding me along without so much as even looking at me. I on the other hand, was less than impressed with our surroundings. And here I thought the castle was rough; at least the castle was cool and colourful inside. The bristliest looking individuals you'd ever seen lined the streets; none of them were friendly. Mando made me wear the dark blue cloak again, which I happily agreed to; anything to draw less attention to myself.

We walked through these two gigantic pillars onto this main-looking street. Of course, just like at the castle, some eyes wandered over to us; I tried to ignore anyone sneaking a peak our way. I just stayed close to Mando; he eventually led me down this quiet, steep staircase. I didn't even have to ask to know that this was shadier part of the area. The mood felt very tense; like awkwardly, uncomfortably so. The Mandalorian wouldn't even look at me, which only made things worse. He had this sort of upset vide about him; kind of angry. Though I had no idea why. He's a bounty hunter; he's about to get a huge payday. What's there for him to be mad about?

I knew he was angry by the way he pounded on this one door with his fist. This scary eye techo thing instantly came out of the walk, speaking to Mando in a foreign language. Mando held up some ID tag that the robot scanned. It then went back into the wall and the door slid open. After a second these two weirdos in white suits stepped out. Oh great, more helmet people. They gazed at the Mandalorian, then at me. For the first time since we stepped off the ship, Mando peered over at me ever so slightly- judging by the motions of his head- and back the strangers.

Without a word transpiring between any of them, they motioned for us to follow them inside. One white guy went in first, followed by me, then Mando, and helmet man number three bringing up the rear. The door shut behind us without any of them having to do or say anything. Not scary at all- insert eyeroll here.

While walking along, I couldn't stop my eyes from exploring around the place. It was grungy and had this odd, almost greasy smell. I guess the white guy leading me didn't like me glancing about. Without warning, he reached over to grab hold of my wrist. I blinked straight at him in surprise and dismay; so did the Mandalorian. "Easy," he told the guy presently dragging me along. "You take it easy," white guy shot back, though his tone wasn't too aggressive. Another door opened ahead of us and they brought us into this warehouse like room. There was a desk and two men inside; one wearing a fancy coat and the other in a lab suit and glasses. They both looked real glad to see me….. for some reason.

"Yes!" Coat man cried for joy as we entered through the threshold. They came immediately towards me as white man let go of my wrist. "Yes, yes, yes; here you are. Here you are at last!" The one with glasses proceeded to hold a red, beeping light up to my eyes, inspecting each one thoroughly. I could tell by the Mandalorian's body language that this annoyed him. A sickening grin bloomed across glasses guy's face. "Very healthy." His hand then reached over to take hold of my jaw. He moved his thumb in such a way that my mouth was made to open. Before I could react, he took a peak inside. Luckily, he removed his hand before I had the chance to shove it away; needless to say, I glared at the two unimpressed with their conduct. They're treating me like cattle at an auction. And they weren't done yet- oh no.

"Very healthy indeed. And young; I'd say about thirty. She's young and strong." "Excellent! She's in perfect condition," the fancy one exclaimed. "She doesn't look much like Anakin," glasses guy crossed his arms while still staring at me. "She's not a Skywalker. Qui-Gon Jinn's great niece," he replied. My mouth dropped open gobsmacked. They know who my relation is? "Great uncle….." I whispered unthinkingly out loud to myself. Both their heads turned back to me like I'd grabbed their attention; glasses guy wasn't smiling any longer now. He scanned me over several times.

"She's not as strong as Anakin was," glasses guy announced like this was a bad thing. Fancy man waved him off. "She's strong enough. Now that Yoda's gone, she's the best we've got." "Y-you know Master Yoda?" I asked, speaking for the first time in a very shaky voice. This caused them to stare at me but not give me an answer. Instead fancy man took a step my way. I could practically hear the Mandalorian's muscles tense in response.

"No, this is better. She's young and her skills have not entirely developed yet. She's malleable." "That's true," glasses guy thumb ran under his chin in a contemplative manner. "What's your name?" Fancy guy was the first to speak to me directly in the room. "S-Saoirse," I leaned back a little. This whole experience was terrifying to be honest. Fancy man grinned at me before flashing his hand at glasses guy.

"Dr. Pershing, would you please take the asset to the lab. I'll inform the others of her arrival." "Come, child," glasses guy, who I'm assuming is Dr. Pershing, took me securely by the wrist. I looked back at the Mandalorian as I was drug out towards a door at the other end of the room. I had to look at him; I wasn't sure if I'd ever see him again. Mando's helmet followed me wherever I moved; he was still as stoic and silent as ever. But it was obvious to me that he wasn't happy right now- I don't know why. He was about to be praised by the big boss in the room; he was grinning over at my abductor. "Your repetition was not unwarranted." I don't know if Mando liked hearing that from him or not. His body language was still tense.

"How many fobs did you give out?" Mando finally spoke, questioning fancy man. "This asset was of extreme importance to me; I had to ensure heh, Saoirse's delivery." After coolly stating this, fancy man went over to his desk to pull out this heavy sounding white, metal box. "But to the winner go the spoils." A press of a few buttons and the sides opened up to reveal more currency blocks inside. So I was right- Mando was selling me to these people. The Mandalorian slowly walked over to the desk, picking up a few blocks in his hand. Fancy man watched him with a sick, twisted grin; one I had the misfortune to see before I was taken away. "Such a large bounty, for such a small package," his voice had a disgusting turn to it. That's when Mando gazed up to see Dr. Pershing finally dragging me into the back through the door. My mouth opened to say something as my brain tried to comprehend that this would be the last moment I'd ever see him. I wanted to say something, say goodbye but there was no time. There was simply no time. The door shut behind me and that was that. I truly believed in that instance that I would never see the Mandalorian again.


	10. Dr Pershing

"Ow!" I winced as Dr. Pershing stuck a thin needle into a vein in my arm. He was drawing blood from me- my very first time. "Just doing a midi-chlorian check," he took the needle out once the vile was full. Onto a little scantron it went, and the doctor checked the screen; the wheel on it was spinning quickly. "Interesting. Almost eighteen thousand. The highest known midi-chlorian count was over twenty thousand per cell; you're just under." "W-what is midi-chlorian?" I asked in a frightened tone. I didn't feel nearly as safe around these men as I did with Mando. His head spun back my way.

"It's hard to explain, but it's these intelligent, microscopic life forms living in your cells. Think of them as organisms living inside of you," Dr. Pershing said as he went back to type something into the computer. I peered down at my hand a bit curiously. I didn't know that's what they were. "A-and Anakin…? He had the highest midi-chlorian count in his cells?" "You don't know about Anakin?" He flashed me a mild side grin. I frowned but didn't say anything. He chuckled a bit before turning back to his computer screen.

"Do you know what midi-chlorian does?" "N-no." "But you know about the Force?" I hesitated to reply but only for a minute; I knew he was expecting an answer. Slowly my head began to nod up and down. This seemed to satisfy him, as he nodded his own head. "Who taught you about that?" He then asked me, still looking at the screen. When I didn't respond this time, he paused his typing and spun his chair out around so he could face me. I eyed him suspiciously for a moment before finally opening my mouth. "My great uncle."

"Your great uncle? The dead one?" I frowned for what felt like the twentieth time that day but nodded my head. He laughed out loud to himself. "Well I'll be; you are special. Special enough for Obi-Gon Jinn's Force ghost to come to you." "He's my uncle." "That doesn't mean anything. He's a Jedi; they cut all family ties when they go in front of the Jedi council. Heh, though I heard your uncle had an "unusual" Jedi philosophy," he chuckled, spinning back to his stupid screen. Of course this only made my frown grow, but I thought it wise to watch my words around this shifty doctor. I decided to ask questions instead.

"A-are you working for the Imperials?" "How do you know about them?" He immediately fired back, though not in a rude or angry voice; more surprised than anything. "My great uncle told me." "You know about the Imperials, but you don't know who Anakin Skywalker is? Just where did you come from? Where were you hiding five years ago?" "Five years? W-what….?" "Ah, never mind. If Obi-Gon Jinn wanted you to know, he would have told you. He didn't tell you much, by the sounds of it." "You're right there," my eyes narrowed intently onto him.

Dr. Pershing pressed a few more buttons before facing me again. "Have you met any other Force ghosts?" "A few….." "Did they teach you how to use the Force?" "For healing," my lips curled into an expectant frown. He didn't appear too pleased by this response. "Don't you want to be a Jedi?" "I am a healer; I was born to heal. That is my role in the cosmos," I said with finality. He chuckled, but it was a sinister chuckle. "Who told you that?" Like hell I was going to tell him it was Obi-Wan Kenobi; it sounded like he already knew too much about me. But I didn't know anything about him or what he and those other goons wanted with me. My back straightened a little.

"What do you want with me? Why did Mando bring me here?" The doctor took his sweet time answering me. "You're here because you are valuable to us." I considered this for a moment, letting my eyes wander out in front of me. "How?" "Heh, you'll see in time. For now, you do what we say when we say it. Judging by your past experience with Jedi masters, you'll know what that's like." You guessed it- I frowned upon hearing this. What a jerk; he's just like all the others. Won't tell me a damn thing; only not hearing it from him made me madder.

"Do you need me to use the Force?" "Like I said, you will learn when the time comes. But…." Dr. Pershing paused for a moment, which caught me by surprise a tad. His lips parted as sliver as his sucked in a silent breath. Then his eyes locked onto mine. "Can you really use the Force? Not just for healing, I mean." All I could was stare; stare blankly and nod my head. Oh, how his eyes lit up in curiosity and delight- much like a child. "Show me," he commanded in a slightly excited tone.

After watching him for another moment, I raised my hand out in front of me and pointed it to something loose in the room. That happened to be this weird, canister tube with a lid on it. Shutting my eyes, I concentrated on the canister. It slowly hovered in the air, floating across the room over to my hand. All the while the doctor witnessed the event with large, astonished eyes. Once it was in my hand my eyes opened and my muscles involuntary relaxed. It wasn't as bad as when I moved that horned animal before, but I still felt mildly tired now. Dr. Pershing got up from his chair, came over to me, and took the canister from my hand. "Remarkable," he gazed over the tube with still wide eyes. They were on me soon enough.

"You are truly fantastic. You will be of great use to us." I didn't reply, instead focusing on my heavy breathing while trying to regain absolute control of my body. It was just a little canister, but I wasn't used to using my powers for levitation; only healing. This explains why I didn't notice him pull a short needle from behind his back, concealing it in his hand. Dr. Pershing took a few more steps towards me; his eyes shimmering down at my head. "Yes, you are precious. You were worth every cent; of that, I am sure." No response on my end; just smaller, lighter breathing now. His eyes narrowed keenly. "And I'm not going to let them kill you; not after what you've shown me. I'm not going to let you go like that."

Before I could ask what he meant, I suddenly felt this sharp pain stab my neck. The needle wasn't long so it didn't go deep; just deep enough to enter the blood stream. I began to wiggle and gasp, clutching his arm with both my hands. He retracted it with ease as I fell off the patient table onto the floor. Breathing was becoming more difficult now; my vision was getting progressively blurry at an alarming rate. The doctor merely watched me with a detached yet pleased look on his face. The last thing I saw was him reaching one hand down for me, then everything went black. Against my will, I fell unconscious yet again.


	11. Rescue

"_But what is the Force, Master?" "It is just as I've said, my child. The Force is energy; the Force is life. You must feel the Force around you, around me; binding us together," Master Yoda explained to me for what felt like the hundredth time. I sighed, skipping a rock across a pond; the same pond I dropped the flowers into four years ago. _

_No matter how many times Yoda or any of the Jedi tried to explain the Force to me, I could never understand it. Master Yoda told me I have to believe, but I don't know how to believe in something I don't understand. I was so confused; I was always confused. They told me its between everything but that doesn't make sense to me. How can I learn to use and control something so incomprehensible? I threw another stone and Yoda looked unamused. _

"_You must do, child." "I try, Master, but…." "No. There is no try; only do and do not. You do not use the Force to your true potential yet," his finger raised up at me. I gazed over to him defeated. "But I don't know what to "do". Why is this so hard for me? Please help me, Master," my eyes had a begging tint in them. His head gave a small shake. "You must help yourself; sense the Force and let it guide you. I cannot do this for you, nor can I tell you how to do it. But you must do it- do as the Force guides you." _

_My thumbs twittled together as I thought for a moment. "Would it be easier if I became a Jedi?" "The path of the Jedi is not for you. While Obi-Wan has taught you to value all life, as you must, you lack essential traits a Jedi requires, and have those they must forgo." "What traits?" I blinked curiously. "You lack fear- it is true- and fear is a path to the dark side. But you have a great compacity for love." "Don't Jedi love?" "Not the way I foresee for you. This is a different kind of love; a singular kind." "I love great uncle, Master Obi-Wan, and you." His head nodded a tad. "But this is different. This kind of love is against the Jedi code, for Jedi cannot marry. It is this kind of love- of self-sacrifice- that will make you a good healer." _

The sensation of being covered by something woke me up. My eyes gently opened to find myself staring up at a ceiling. I felt something soft and warm cover my body; and I do mean my whole body. It didn't hit me immediately that I was naked and the thing concealing me was a familiar dark blue cloak. Whoever draped that over me wrapped me up in it like a swaddle. The room was noisy and had this panicked tension.

"Please, please, please." I know that voice; that's Dr. Pershing's voice. He sounded frantic and scared for some reason, and not anywhere near me. Without any forewarning my body was suddenly lifted up by two strong, armoured arms. It's only then that I saw who my champion was. My eyes stared up to see Mando. Mando! Oh my god! And here I thought I'd never see him again. I don't know how long it had been since that slimy doctor knocked me out, but it was obviously long enough for the Mandalorian to come back, break in, and find me….. somehow.

My first reaction was to say hi or something like that. But one, my throat was super dry- almost painfully so- and two, I think Mando wanted me to be quiet. He didn't set me down on my feet right away; instead he shifted me so to hold me in one arm, freeing his other hand for his blaster. We went uneventfully threw a few hallways, then once we were in a bigger room, Mando finally set me down. My feet stumbled a bit, the effects of the drug still wearing off. The Mandalorian made sure I was steady before turning to the now opening door. Two guys in the white suits from earlier entered and they instantly started shooting at each other. Mando gently yet rapidly shoved me behind a corner to block me from any fire.

Shooting turned to punching and kicking really fast. Another white guy raced in. "Where is she?!" He demanded like he wasn't aware of the Mandalorian's arrival yet. Too bad for him. Since I was now between new white guy and Mando, Mando didn't hesitate to grab hold of my wrist. I didn't have time to blink before I was yanked right into him, pressing up against his armour. Mando's arm snaked around my waist while the other hand um… well put bluntly, roasted that guy alive. I had to shut my eyes and turn my head away. His screams sounded unearthly.

"Hurry!" Another guy got too close to us- close enough for Mando to electrocute him. I wanted to my saviour to stop killing so much but alas, here we are. Once the room was clear- save us- Mando retracted his arm from me, took hold of my hand, and led me cautiously out through the back door. It was about now I became conscious of going out into public in nothing but a robe wrapped around me like a blanket. What that sleezy doctor removed all my clothes for is beyond me. Maybe easier to track my Force-sensitivity. Who knows?

It didn't take long for us to run into yet another one of those white men; of course he had to be shooting at us right away. Completely blocking me, Mando shot him back. Once he was down, the Mandalorian kept guiding me along the way by the hand. Every room we entered, he took his time to cautiously scan around first. Eventually we reached this really big, kind of empty, dark room which was rather silent inside. We only had to take a few steps in however, for things to get bad fast.

One door opened and two white guys entered- guns pointing at us. "Freeze! Don't move!" One barked. Mando made sure to stand in front of me, but that didn't do any good to the other two men now coming in from behind. We were efficiently surrounded. "Hands up! Drop the blaster!" I think the wheels in Mando's head started to turn; I could tell by the way he wrapped his arm around me again while not taking his eyes off the freaks.

"Wait. What I'm holding is very valuable," the Mandalorian told them. "You! Get over here now!" The first guy- I'm guessing the leader of the gang- ordered at me. I didn't do anything except press up against Mando's armour. Man, it's like hugging a rock. "Here," still holding onto me, Mando lowered to put his weapon down onto the ground. In the process, I noticed the thing on his wrist make a noise. My eyes peered up at Mando's helmet. What is he….?

"Now turn and face me. Stand up." Before we even had the chance, something- a lot of things actually- flew off Mando's wrist thingy. Whatever they were, they took good care of the four men very, very quickly. With a quick look around, Mando's hand reached for mine, he picked up his blaster, and out we went.

Finally, finally we made it outside. It was dark out and we appeared to be the only ones in the vicinity. That didn't last too long though, once we reached the main street. Despite being completely stark-naked underneath this cloak, it gave a surprising amount of coverage. It looked like a long, blue gown if I held it right.

Now, I knew we were being trailed at some point. Mando already knew by the way his hand kept touching his blaster. When men came out into the open ahead of us was the time his feet came to a stop. Within quiet seconds we were circled once more; there were tons of those red blinking trackers around. Uh oh, wait a minute….

"Welcome back, Mando," I knew I'd heard that voice from somewhere but couldn't put my finger on it right away. It was only once he came into view that I realized it was the same guy from the hologram back on Mando's ship; the one talking about the bounty, aka me. He put his fist on his side and was definitely not smiling. "Now give her to me," hologram guy demanded.

The Mandalorian's hand caressed his gun again. "Step aside. I'm going to my ship." It was around this point that some of the cruder men encompassing us started to jeer, whispering not so discreetly to each other. "She's gorgeous…" "She's…. naked." "Hey, hot stuff! What're you hiding under there?" "Honey, why don't you give that cloak to me?" "Yeah, heh. Gotta make sure the cargo's intact before we deliver it," one playfully shoved another in the rips. Hologram guy rolled his eyes unimpressed and gave his head a little shake. "Enough!" He then glared back at Mando severely.

"You give the bounty to me, and perhaps I'll let you pass." "She's coming with me," Mando said with definiteness. Mando…. I blinked up to him astonished for some reason. I mean, he did just risk his life to save me. Granted, he's the one who handed me over in the first place, but he came back…. He came back for me. _"You balance each other. Remember that when you find reason to distrust him."_ A reason to distrust him… Mando hand-delivered me to them, and then he risked life and limb to take me back. My eyes lowered onto his helmet. I think I understand for the first time what Master meant when he told me all that.

Too bad hologram guy wasn't going to let Mando escape with me that easily. Seeing as the Mandalorian had a soft spot for me, he decided to play on that. Hologram guy pointed at me and spoke in a softer tone now. "If you truly care about the girl, then you'll hand her to me. And we'll discuss terms." "How do I know I can trust you?" Mando asked this but I already knew he had no intention of giving me back; not after what he risked to come fetch me. Hologram guy's eyes sharpened. "Because I'm you're only hope."

Mando's head spun to face me; his gaze lingered on me for a brief moment. Though he said nothing, I knew he was considering all his options and quickly weeding them out. Guns raised in our direction; tensions heightened. But soon enough Mando shot one of the creeps surrounding us. With his arm coiled around me yet again, he threw both of us behind some metal boxes. Blasters shot, people yelled- the classic battle scene ensued. He pushed my head down so he could confidently shoot with both hands.

"Drive! Drive!" I hadn't realized that we landed on a frater, but we were moving soon enough; getting shot at the whole way of course. The robot driving the cart got its head blown off by hologram guy. That's when the Mandalorian pulled out his disintegrator. One by one, people turned to dust and soon began to run. Pretty soon those remaining were hiding, but still nearby. "That's one impressive weapon," hologram man called from behind a pillar.

"Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to walk to my ship with the girl, and you're gonna let it happen," Mando announced. Course hologram guy wasn't satisfied with that. "No. How about this? We take the girl, and if you try to stop us, we kill you. And we strip your body for parts." "Mando," I reached out to touch his arm afraid. No, he's not gonna die; they're not going to kill him on my account. If only one of us can get out of this alive, it's going to be him. I'm a healer, a peacekeeper; I keep people alive. And I want to keep Mando alive more than anyone at the moment.

"Y-you'll let him go?" I asked in a much louder voice this time. Mando seemed horrified by this but I stuck to my resolve. Some of the jerks began jeering again in mocking tones. "Awe, you hear that?" "That's so precious." "She cares about the Mandalorian." "Why? Who'd care about someone like him?" "Oh who cares why? If it'll get us her, that's all we need." "Yes, sweetheart. We'll let the Mandalorian go if you come out." "Yeah, and leave the cloak behind, why don't 'cha?" Laugher filled the air.

All the while, I hadn't noticed one of them sneak around from behind. The creep took hold of my bare leg, causing me to shriek really loudly. "Don't touch her!" Mando kicked him square in the face. He got disintegrated in the blink of an eye and guns started blasting all over again. This time Mando tried burning them alive, which seemed to work for a moment. And when that was out of juice, Mando gave a frustrated huff. They kept shooting at us and Mando laid down low beside me. Our eyes met- well at least I think they did. We looked at each other and I grinned. I don't know why I grinned. Maybe I thought the situation was pointless and we were going to die anyway. Maybe I was beyond grateful that he came back for me. Maybe I wanted his last moments alive to be positive ones. For whatever reason, an organic smile blossomed across my face; not a big one but wide enough. My lips then parted a sliver; my eyes lowered gently.

That's literally when a miracle occurred. Hugh blasts lit up the night sky from high above; men immediately started fleeing and yelling. Individuals wearing the same helmet as Mando appeared from out the sky using jet packs. They didn't wait to engage in combat once they arrived. Mando merely watched in awe for a minute, then he spotted hologram man and raised his gun. Thankfully hologram guy made a run for it, so he didn't die right in front of me. One of the bigger Mandalorians- I think that's what they are- landed right near us, protecting us with ample shots and a really big gun.

"Get outta here. We'll hold 'em off," he said to Mando. "You'll have to relocate the covert." "This is the way," they looked at each other. "This is the way," Mando reiterated with a head nod. What way now? What are they talking about? After giving one another a mutual nod, Mando collected me in both arms; he held me princess-style. Once he had me securely in his grasp, he ran towards the pillars exiting main street. The ship wasn't that far from the entrance to the place. The Mandalorian got us safely on board, but we weren't out of the woods yet. Before he even had the chance to set me down, someone jumped down onto the bottom deck. Of course it had to be hologram guy.

"Hold it, Mando." Even with all the armour he had on, I could feel Mando's body clench as he slowly spun around to see hologram guy aiming a blaster at us. Or I should say Mando; I was put down super-fast and dragged behind him so he could block any shots to me. "I didn't want it to come to this, but then you broke the code. I get it; you care for the girl. She obviously cares about you too. Just hand her over and I promise, nothing will happen to her." "They wanted to kill her," Mando retorted angrily. "But they won't. I won't let them. Now, don't make me shoot you. I'm taking her one way or another."

That was not a wise thing to say. Mando shot this wire thingy out at a nearby button which proceeded a lot of stem. Hologram guy fired rather aimlessly until his blaster was out of bullets. Then Mando shot him, or at least off the ship; I don't think he actually killed him. Once he was off, the door slammed shut and the ship went into drive. I watched as Mando flew us away from that god-forsaken place as fast as he could.

Once we were a considerable distance, one of the Mandalorians- the one who initially helped us escape- zoomed up using his jetpack. He saluted Mando before descending back down. My Mandalorian seemed pleased with this, leaning his head back a tad. "I got to get one of those." "Awe, that would be fun," I agreed. "You're not using it. It's for Mandalorians," Mando told me; he said this, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was relieved. I watched him for a second, then grinned. "No fun." He didn't reply. When he didn't, I smiled over at him.

"So was it worth it? The bounty you got for me?" Silence. "And yet, you came back. Why?" More silence; Mando wasn't even looking at me now. This made me chuckle softly to myself; my eyes peered forward to my hands. "Why'd you come back after all the trouble you went through just getting me there? Never mind feeding me and making sure I didn't die….. Why did you? We barely even know each other." A pregnant pause ensued "No more questions," was his candid reply. I couldn't stop myself from smiling again- so like him to say that.

"Well, for whatever reason you came back, thank you. That guy was horrible; Dr. What-His-Name….. Staying there would have been definitely not ended well for me; I could tell that much….." I stole a peak at his helmet-clad head. I saw him and grinned to myself. "Thank you….. thank you." Obviously there was no reply, which I didn't mind. I simply gazed back forward out at the switchboard I was currently leaning on. That's when I saw it; the pink flower Kuiil had bought me back at the castle. It was resting on the dashboard peacefully. Huh, I pondered while staring at it. That's not where I left it. Wonder what it's doing up here? Curious; very curious indeed.


	12. A New Ally

[Author's Note: I want to apologize to all Cara Dune fans among my lovely readers. She will not be making an appearance in this story. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against Cara Dune! But this is a love story- albeit a slow-burning one- and I want to introduce my favourite romance trope. I adore writing and reading love triangles (only if they are done in a very specific way, mind you).

A love triangle will be introduced in this chapter. For this to happen, I am going to change Cara Dune's character to a male version: Carl Dune (cheesy, I know). Don't worry; Saoirse will be completely faithful to Mando, no CarlxOC whatsoever. But I do like love stories where the desired party is entirely loyal to love-interest-one, while also being unsuccessfully pursued by love-interest-two. Plus I like the idea of Mando getting jealous.

I want to thank all my lovely readers again for your support and kind comments; readers like you make me want to continue writing. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the story!]

I tossed a ball up and down in the air bored. I was laying on my cot while Mando drove the ship. He had yet to tell me where we were going. Time to ask some questions! I threw the ball up once more and I rolled onto my side so to face the back of his chair and window.

"Where are we going?" "Somewhere we can lay low," the Mandalorian responded, not looking back at me. "Why don't we go back to Takodana? You could bring me home," I suggested, my great uncle's words lingering in the back of my head. "It's not safe. Too many know you're from there. We'll have to find somewhere else." Sighing, I rested my head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Man, flying through space was simultaneously enchanting and mind-numbingly boring. It's not like my protector was the talkative type either. To be honest, I didn't expect Mando to stay with me like this; I thought he would drop me off somewhere and get on with his life. But I was grateful he was sticking with me, especially without me having to ask. I don't know how long we'd be together like this, but I was glad we were.

Meanwhile, while I was doing utterly nothing, Mando was analysing his computer screen. "Let's see: Sorgan. Looks like there's no star port, no industrial centres, no population density. Real backwater skugle, which means it's perfect for us." Does it? I blinked at him ponderingly. His head turned around to face mine. "Ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple of mouths?" Whoa, months? Who said anything about "months"? I sat up on my cot, looking at Mando with unfirmness. "Don't I get a say where we go?" "No," he turned back to his switchboard, causing me to stifle yet another smile. Oh boy. He does know I'm a grown woman, right? But then, something tells me he doesn't have a lot of experience with women in general; or maybe women like me. You know, soft, calm, gentle, doesn't shoot things- that kind of lady. He pressed a few more buttons and grabbed hold of the steering wheel. "Nobody's going to find us here," he announced quietly before flying us down.

We landed not too long after. I knew Mando had something in mind when he guided me to his chair; he hasn't let me sit there thus far, not that I ever wanted to. It was merely the fact that he was guiding me along that caught my attention, though I waited for him to speak first. "Now listen; I'm going to go out there and I'm going to look around. Shouldn't take too long." "Ok," my head cocked to the side slightly. "Now, don't touch anything." Oh boy, how old did he think I was? Five? "I'll find us some lodging, and I'll come back for you." Apparently so. My eyes rolled so hard inwardly when his finger began waving at me.

"You stay right here; you stay, don't move. Understand?" Oh my god. "Mando, I'm not a child. You don't have to worry; I'm not going to wander off. I'll wait here for you," I grinned. His finger wagged a bit more as he digested what I just said. "Great." And with that, the Mandalorian left me alone on the ship, shutting the electric door behind him. Once he was gone, I sighed for like the millionth time and let myself fall back into the chair. "Why does safety always have to be tied with boredom?" Even though he told me not to touch anything, my hand lightly played with the joystick.

"Saoirse." I practically jumped out of my chair. Now that's a beloved voice I hadn't heard in a while. "Master!" I spun around gasping. My great uncle's spirit smiled warmly at me; his hands folded out in front of him. My own hand rose up to my chest. "Am I glad to see you! I have so, so many questions!" "I know you have, but there is not much time. I must be brief," he came over to me, placing his hand over top my shoulder. "M-master, what's going on? Who are these Imperials? Why do they want me so badly?" What started as one question turned into a ramble. His grinned widened- as wide as his grin could get mind you- and he gave my shoulder a squeeze.

"All will be well, if you trust the Force, my child." "B-but that doctor…. He said something about midi-chlorian and how I had a lot in my cells. Why does that matter? W-what's going on?" "I have told you before, Saoirse. Your body has the second highest count of midi-chlorian in history; I have only known one to have more than you." My eyes drifted off into nowhere rememberingly. "Anakin…..?" That made Master's grin fade for some reason. He watched me for a moment before saying anything else.

"Never forever, child; I am always with you. In the meantime, I want you to be mindful; sense the Force and act according to its will." "Well how do I figure out what the will is?" "When you quiet your mind, you will hear them speaking to you." But I never hear anything. Ugh! Why can't the Force try and talk to me a little louder? Sensing my mounting frustration, Master Obi-Gon Jinn's grin returned; he patted the side of my arm affectionately. Our eyes met again.

"Follow the will of the Force. It will not lead you astray." "Yes, Master," my eyes lowered. But I still had so many questions. My mouth opened as I drew in a deep breath. "I just… Can you at least tell me what these Imperials want with me? Can I give it to them, so they'll leave me alone?" He chuckled, giving his head a shake. "I am with you, child. Always remember that I am with you- all of us." "Master, I….."

Something went bump suddenly making my head glance to the side. I leaned back towards the door to see if anything had fell. When I looked back seconds later, my great uncle was gone. "Master? Master!" I frantically rushed to the front of the room, only to find it completely barren. "Great, he's gone…." I tossed my hands up in the air. My feet began to pace aimlessly around the floor. "Fantastic. I have one man telling me to stay put, and another man telling me to "follow" the Force wherever it leads me. Ugh, why are men always bossing me around? "Do this; do that." No one ever asks me what I want! Oh no; they just tell me- cryptically- what to do, then take off. Meanwhile I'm left here with no idea what I'm doing," I finally collapsed back into the chair, resting my forehead in my hands agonizingly. "I have no idea what I'm doing….."

It was around this time that I heard the front door open up. My first thought was that it was Mando returning; that wasn't long! But when there was no "I'm back" or any announcement, I grew suspicious. Cautiously, I got up from the chair and stepped close enough that I could see the opening. The door was certainly open but there was no one there- no one I could see anyway. "Mando?" I took another step forward. No reply. How'd this door even get open? I turned to see that the button to open it- or at least the button I think opened it- wasn't on. That's weird; the button hasn't been pressed yet the door's opened up. It's like it opened on its own…. _"I want you to be mindful; sense the Force and act according to its will."_ Wait.

Seconds later footsteps could be heard approaching the now open door. I stumbled back a few steps myself, alarmed by this. Ok, so perhaps the Force opened the door. Why? And more importantly, who's intruding on our ship? I don't think it's Mando; he would make his presence known. Whoever it was, they sounded reserved and careful with their steps. My feet shuffled back far enough that I didn't see them first come onboard, though I did hear them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the infamous Mando? What brings you to this god-forsaken place?" Mando? Oh! It must be someone who recognizes this to be Mando's ship. I didn't reply, silently hoping he'd just go away once he realized the Mandalorian wasn't here. "Your ship break down or something?" Of course, the universe likes to be ironic with me and he didn't. Instead he came fully onboard, stomping up the control room. He seemed just as surprised to find me there as I was to see him.

His arms folded as he scanned me once over. "Well I'll be. I didn't know Mando had a wife." "Uh, we're not… Hey, wait. Who are you? W-what are you doing on our ship?!" This man- he looked… well, battle-hardened is the best way to put it. Grizzled but muscular. His face had a bit of stubble on it and his hair was long on one side. He had this weird tattoo on one arm. After onceing me over- again- he cracked a grin before having a look around the area.

"Mando here?" Should I tell him the truth? What if I lie? But then, what if I'm honest? What if he's one of those people with those trackers- the ones meant for hunting me? Well, I figured that he'd learn soon enough that Mando wasn't here, so I decided to go the truthful route for now. "He's gone out," I stated flatly, not taking my worried eyes off of him. Yeah, thanks Force; this is just what I need right now. More things to worry about.

The intruder gazed back at me. "Who are you?" "I asked you first. Who are you? Why are you looking for Mando?" "Don't see how that's any of your business, little girl." I frowned, clearly upset by this lack of respect. "If you're looking for Mando, he's not here. I suggest you leave until he returns." "When will that be?" "I….. I don't know. He just left a little while ago." "Why didn't you go with him?" "B-because! Because he told me to stay. He…. he wanted to check this place out first." This man chuckled, only fanning my annoyance. "That was sure nice of him, wasn't it?"

This man started to explore casually, pausing every now and again to examine something. I watched him, utterly unimpressed. "So you're just going to stay here and wait for him?" "Got nothing better to do. Let's kill some time; tell me more about you." "I beg your pardon?" My frowned widened. "Heh, a beautiful woman on Mando's ship? I don't know if you know this, but he's a bit of a loner. Where'd he even find you?" "We met on my home planet," I didn't bother holding back any venom. He glanced my way. "Oh yeah? Where're you from?" Ha! I don't see why I should tell you. Instead of answering, I kept my mouth shut and his eyes narrowed curiously onto me from where he was standing.

"So it's going to be like that, is it?" "You should probably just leave. Mando won't like you being on his ship without his permission. You gotta trust me on this." "Oh, he won't, will he?" Chuckling, the intruder stepped my way, making my eyes grow in alarm somewhat. He was getting too close for comfort for my liking. But his smile wasn't one of malice; more general interest. "What's your name?" "Saoirse." "Saoirse? That's a nice name." "T-thank you…"

That's when it hit me like a lightening bolt. Gees, I can't believe it took me this long to remember it. _"You will be taken from here. Do not leave until then; he will find you."_ Of course! He could be…. He might be…. "A-are you…. Is your first name Din?" I know I didn't ask Mando this outright when he first abducted me, but I wanted to be sure that this man- if he took me- was in fact the right guy. I still had no proof that Din what's-his-name was the Mandalorian, after all.

The intruder blinked at me in confusion, then glanced away down at the switchboard. His fingers fiddled with the pink flower still resting on it. "No, I'm no Din. For your purposes, my name is Carl- Carl Dune." Carl Dune…. So not Din, then? Man! When am I ever going to meet this Din character? How many men am I going to meet before him? Still, I'd be lying if a part of me wasn't relieved. I wasn't ready to leave Mando just yet. Now I know he could leave me at any time- that was the reality. But I was glad this Carl Dune wasn't Din last-name-here…. It meant Mando and I had some time still together.

Analysing my facial reaction, Carl chuckled to himself yet again. He took another step towards me, leaving the flower intact on the dashboard. "Are you looking for this "Din"?" He asked me. "Not exactly…." He's supposed to be looking for me…. I think. "You sure are an interesting one. Where did Mando find you again?" Before I could tell him that it's not of business, a welcomed familiar voice cut viciously through the air. "Get away from her!"

Within the blink of an eye, the Mandalorian was back and boy, he did not look happy. Neither did Carl Dune for that matter actually. Upon first seeing each other, without any hellos or greetings, they began to engage in a fist fight. This obviously upset and stunned me. They were pushing each other, kicking the other in the gut, and punching all around. It honestly sounded kinda painful. My protective instincts kicked again as I refused to let my friend get pulverised by this interloper. I say that, but I didn't want Carl to get hurt either. The perfect ending was no one getting injured, and that's what I intended to achieve.

"Stop! Stop it! Stop fighting! He didn't hurt me! He's not here to hurt me! Stop punching each other!" Now who has to act like they're dealing with a bunch of children? As you can probably guess, they didn't stop, causing me to do the biggest eyeroll in history. This was senseless violence; I don't care if they're men and warriors. They kept sounding like they were genuinely hurting one another. "For the love of god, stop! This is pointless! You both lose, or win- whatever you want to call it. It's a tie!" Both hands flew exasperatedly up into the air. But nope- the brawling continued until they were both on the floor.

After rolling around several times, things finally got too serious when they yanked out their guns at the same time; they were pointing them at each other's head. Ok, this has gone too far. They shouldn't just kill each other like that! What senseless nonsense was this?! Both heads turned to face me as I got on my knees and reached my hands out to cover the front end of both blasters. Oh, now they're stopping?! Short of blowing each other's brains out. My face had an expression that read "I'm a hundred and ten percent done with your nonsense" on it. "Stop; just stop."

The Mandalorian then looked back at Carl, who gazed back at him. "How'd you get onboard?" Mando demanded. "The door was open," Carl stated matter-of-factly. "Why'd you open the door?" Mando then turned to face me. "I didn't," I exclaimed. "Heh, you left her here alone with a broken door? That's some grade-A protecting there, Mando." "The door isn't broken," Mando retorted threateningly. "Clearly, cause if she didn't open it…."

My stomach thought that now was the perfect time to embarrass me, growling quite loudly all of a sudden. Both heads were looking my way again and my cheeks sizzled red; my hands retracted from their line of fire to wrap around my waist in a desperate attempt to make my belly quiet. Well what did I expect? I hadn't eaten all day. Mando was still getting used to this whole feeding me on a regular basis. He must have known that's the issue as he peered back at Carl. "Want to go get some soup?"


	13. Lodging

"So you've gone and got yourself a wife?" "We're not married," Mando dejected. "Oh, so she's available then?" Carl leaned back in his seat grinning at me. We were currently sitting round a table; me situated in between the two warriors. While they were yacking, I was drinking some broth.

"How long have you been here?" Mando asked, trying to steer the conversation off the clearly uncomfortable topic. "About a week," Carl shrugged one shoulder. "How'd you end up here?" Mando asked and Carl peered at me through the corner of his eye. "Let's just call it an early retirement." Then Carl took a swig of his soup before glancing back at the Mandalorian across the table.

"Look, I only went onto your ship because I thought, for some bizarre reason, that you might be inside," the sarcasm in his tone made me smile- a little. Seeing this, Carl continued. "I didn't know you had… company onboard, and judging by the way you tackled me, very precious company." "Yeah, that's what I figured," Mando's head gave a nod. "Well this has been a real treat," grinning at me, Carl left his bowl and got up from his chair. I flashed him a side-smirk before finishing up my soup. Mando looked at Carl intently. "So?" "So I'd say that unless you want to go another round, one of us is gonna have to move on, and I was here first. She's welcomed to stay, course; but you're gonna have to leave, Mando old boy." Then, with one last smile my way, Carl took off. Mando waited until he was gone before turning to me. "Well, looks like this planet's taken." I loved how he didn't even momentarily consider leaving me here with Carl Dune. Is that wrong that made me so happy? I don't think so, I decided taking one last sip of broth.

Mando and I went back to the ship afterwards. He headed out to do some maintenance; that's where he was when I guess these local farmers approached him. I know he was talking to somebody since I could hear then as the door opened. I peered up from where I was sitting on my cot. "Come on; let's head back," I didn't recognize that voice. "It took us a whole day to get here," I didn't know that one either. "Now we have to ride back with no protection, to the middle of nowhere." Who were these guys? Why are they talking to Mando?

"Where do you live?" I next heard the Mandalorian ask. There was the universe's quickest pause. "At a farm. Weren't you listening? We're farmers." Wait, he's talking to farmers? Where there's farms there's water; and that means I can finally have a bath! "In the middle of nowhere?" Yeah, that's it, Mando; keep talking to them. "Yes," one answered. "You have lodging?" "Y-yeah, absolutely," the other spoke this time. "Good, come up and help."

So Mando emerged back onto the ship with these two weathered-looking men. They looked at me, then back at Mando as he began to instruct them what to grab. Together we all loaded a cart. Once the majority of the work was done, the Mandalorian gave me a blanket to wrap myself in; he made sure I was comfy in his own way. He paused to glance in my direction, resting his hand near my lap. "Stay here. I won't go far." I nodded, feeling a bit too tired to go anywhere anyway. He then turned to one of the farmers. "I'm going to need one more thing. Give me those credits."

I don't know where Mando went but roughly five minutes later he returned with none other than Carl Dune. "Carl?" I perked up upon their arrival. "Hey, Saoirse. Long time, no see," he gave me a playful, mocking grin. My eyes rolled from him to Mando totally confused; he merely stared back at me. "We have company." "I see that…." Slowly my gaze drifted back to Carl. He hoped onboard, as did Mando- once he closed up the ship.

"So we're basically running off a band of raiders for lunch money?" Carl asked Mando sometime after we'd set off. "You're doing what now?" "They're cornering us in the middle of nowhere. Last I checked that's a pretty square deal for somebody in your position." Oooooooh, shots fired. And yeah, he did completely ignore my question. The Mandalorian went on. "Worst case scenario, you tune up your blaster. Best case, we're a deterrent. I can't imagine there's anything living in these trees that an ex-shock trooper couldn't handle."

"What's a shock trooper?" I blinked over to Carl. He seemed surprised to hear me ask this. "You don't know what shock troopers are?" He countered. I shrugged. "My god, woman. Have you been living under a rock? Do you at least know what he is?" Carl's thumb stuck out at Mando. "I know he's a Mandalorian." "Do you know what a Mandalorian is?" My head shook. This made Carl laugh; Mando did not.

"Why are you two traveling together? She doesn't know anything about you." To be fair, Mando didn't know that much about me either. "It's a long story," I sighed, pressing my chin into my palm. "We got nothin' but time," Carl responded to me. We looked at each other for a second; that's when I came up with something. "I have an idea. Why don't we play a game instead?" "A game?" Carl's eyebrow lifted and Mando's head turned towards me. I grinned, sitting up a bit.

"How about I Spy?" "Pass," Carl's eyes rolled. "Ok, um…. How about Twenty Questions?" "What's that?" "We take turn asking each other questions until we've answered twenty." Carl considered this for a moment. "Can we veto a question?" I nodded. "Yep. Only answer what you're comfortable answering; and no personally tailored questions. So, for example, I can't ask what those tattoos on your arm mean." Carl and Mando gazed at each other before they nodded. Carl in particular leaned back, spreading both his arms out at his sides. "Sure, fine. Ask away."

"Ok, uh, what's your favourite colour?" My finger rested cutely on my cheek. Once again, Carl seemed taken aback by this sort of question. "My favourite colour? Huh, don't know- green, I guess." "And your favourite colour, Mando?" I then peered at the Mandalorian. He glanced down at his hands. "Don't have one…" "Black," Carl sent me a teasing smirk as he answered for Mando. The Mandalorian didn't correct him, instead simply turning his head in Carl's direction. But Carl was watching me by now, twiddling with his fingers a bit. "What's your favourite colour, Saoirse?" "Pink," I didn't even have to think about it. Carl laughed softly, dropping his eyes down to his hands. "Why am I not surprised? Ok, my turn. How many planets have you been on?" He chose to ask Mando first. "Lots," short and to the point- classic Mando. "Heh, same. You, Saoirse?" "Three." "Three?!" Carl gasped. His shocked reaction surprised me; my head cocked a little puzzled.

"Is that unusual?" "Seriously, where is this rock you were living under?" "Honestly," my eyes rolled. "It's not unusual," the Mandalorian reassured me. "Speak for yourself. I've never met anyone like you before," Carl's eyes were on me now. "Same here," I grinned back at him. Carl yawned, planting both hands behind his head and spinning his eyes back to Mando. "Alright, Mando; you're turn." "Pass." "Fine; be a kill-joy. Saoirse, go." "Hmmmmmm, how old are you?" "Now that's pretty personal, don't you think?" "Alright, what's your favourite star in the night sky?" And so on we went.

We played this game for a while longer, the two of the practically vetoing every other question; I'm the only one who answered all of them. It had its desired effect though. By the time the game wound down, we were all pretty tired. "We should get some rest," Mando quietly announced. I was the only one who had a blanket; I suppose Mando had his armour on and Carl…. well he seemed fine. Didn't have any trouble falling to sleep if he was uncomfortable. I remember the last person I saw before I closed my eyes was Mando. I saw him and gently shut my eyes as I drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless slumber.


	14. Lovely Hosts

We all woke up to the sound of people- namely children- running towards the cart. The children first looked at Mando, the Carl, and finally me. "Well, looks like they're happy to see us," Mando sounded a tad relieved. "Looks like," Carl agreed with a side grin.

The village was…. primitive, but in a charming sort of way. One of the farmers led us to a place where we could stay for the night; or at least I think it was only for a night. Mando had neglected to tell me how long we'd be staying here for. The woman who owned the hut made up one of the rooms for us. She was rolling up some blinds when we arrived. "I hope this is comfortable for you. Sorry that all we have is the barn." "This'll do fine," Mando told her. Acknowledging this, she smiled over at me; I was right behind Mando upon entering the small place. I hadn't realized I was still in the door's threshold at the moment.

"I stacked some blankets over here for you, and I have a change of clothes if you'd like," the nice lady said. This caused me smile back at her warmly. "Thank you so much for letting us stay here; I really appreciate it." "It's no trouble, dear. Just let me know if you need anything…. you, or your husband," she tacked on at the end. "Uhhhhhhhh…" I was about to gently correct her, blushing furiously as I did so, before….

We both flinched at Mando's suddenly turning forward in a defensive, ready-to-attack manner. Then we spun around to see one of the young girls reaching out for me; she looked just as startled as we did. The woman frowned a bit and walked over to stand beside her frightened daughter; her arms wrapped around her protectively. "This is my daughter, Winda. We… don't get a lot of visitors here." "Hi, Winda," I bent down so to be at her eye level; I also made sure to flash her a reassuring, brilliant grin. Huh, it just then dawned on me…. This was my first time ever speaking to a child before. I didn't really know how to speak to them, but I already knew that I liked her. From the first moment I saw her, I knew I liked her.

"She's not used to strangers," Winda's mother explained to us before addressing her daughter. "These nice people are going to help protect us from the bad men." "Thank you," Winda said in a small voice. I smiled; of course I smiled. She sounded so cute! Mando's head gave a single, almost uncomfortable nod. "Come on, Winda. Let's give our guests some room," taking her by the hand, Winda and her mother then left us alone. I gazed back to Mando with sincere eyes. "They're nice." "Yes, they are….."

Late, the Mandalorian was busy fiddling with his disintegrator while I was nibbling on some food on the bed beside him. "Knock, knock," we both glanced to see the nice lady, along with Winda, entering the hut again. She had a tray with some food in her hands. "Come in," Mando said. The lady and I smiled at each other. Actually, she's the only other woman I've ever met in my life too. Lots of firsts today.

"Thank you for the food." "It's no trouble. Is there anything else I can bring you?" The mother asked me. I brushed a few stray hairs behind my ear. "Actually, there is something. I would loooooove a bath; I haven't bathed in days. Just some soap would be nice." The mother laughed and even the daughter giggled; Mando didn't seem to get it. "There's a very nice spring just beyond the forest line. It's very private; you'll be able to bathe in peace there." "Really?!" My eyes lit up. By now, Mando was definitely listening as he had stopped playing with his weapon. "I'll bring you some towels," the mother grinned. "Oh, thank you! I can't wait to be clean!" My hands excitedly rolled into fists. "Can I come?" Winda asked me. "Sure! I have no idea where it is anyway." Winda grinned, taking my hand in hers. "Come on! I'll show you the way!" And as we exited the hut, Mando took a worried step forward; his hand reached out in front of him.

"Wait, Saoirse. I don't think…." "She'll be fine," the nice woman cut him off before he could stop us. Thank goodness; nothing was getting between me and cleanliness right now. But Mando wasn't done yet. He looked at the lady, still obviously concerned. "I don't…." "She'll be fine," she reassured him again, gently lowering his raised arm. That was the last time I heard or saw the Mandalorian until I was freshly washed and scrubbed a few hours later. The time in between now and then was interesting, to say the least.


	15. Bath Time

"Your husband sure is protective," Winda's hand kept cupping the water, letting it slip from her fingers. "I sorta like it," I smiled over at her; I didn't bother correcting her that Mando and I weren't married. Everyone here just took us to be so… for some reason. I simply got undressed and hopped into the hot spring. Man, did that feel good! Wearing the widest smile across my face, my eyes shut as my arms stretched high above me. "This is the life….." My back slinked into the water.

"Do you miss it?" Winda proceeded to ask me out of the blue. "What?" My eyes were still closed, soaking in the sensation of getting clean. "Your home. Do you miss being away from home?" Now this did make my eyes open a sliver. Home- I hadn't thought about it much since we left to be honest….. "I guess so. I miss how easy everything was. If I wanted to eat, I could always find food; if I wanted a bath, I could take a bath. Now doing those things seems like a luxury." "Where is your home? Is it far?" "Quite a ways, I think; Mando does the flying….."

Winda's head nodded in understanding; her went back to scooping up water. "Do you like our planet?" "From what I've seen of it, yes. It reminds me a lot of my home planet. I grew up in the forest outside a massive valley. This kind of looks like it," except my home had a lot more flowers. Flowers….

My eyes opened completely and my head turned to see a little white flower near the water's edge. Winda watched inquisitively as I reached over to pick it up and set it in the spring. "What are you doing?" She asked in a curious tone. I grinned up at her. "Just preserving its life a little longer." "Oh," this seemed to mildly surprise her for some reason. I saw fit to explain my actions a little bit more. "Flowers don't have a long life naturally, especially after they're picked. But someone very precious to me once said that if you put them in water, they'll live a bit longer…." My eyes wandered back down to the floating blossom; a soft, ironic smile blooming across my lips. "I'm not doing a very good job at embracing the transience of life, am I…..?" I jested to myself out loud.

I let myself fall all the way into the water, allowing me to float on my back. My arms were out at my sides as I stared up to the sky. Memories started to flood me. Good memories…. Memories I wanted to treasure.

"_Master! Master, don't leave me!" It was the middle of a thunderstorm and my seven-year-old self was terrified out of my mind. Thunder roared through the air, causing me to cover my ear and cry. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi reached out to rest his hand over my shoulder. _

"_You have nothing to fear, child," he cooed soothingly. "But I am scared. Please don't leave me," I kept on begging and begging. His eyes lowered onto me in a tender fashion. "Saoirse, look at me. I am always with you; I walk alongside you. Never forget that." "M-Master…." All I could do was stare up in awe at the man. "Do not be frightened; you are never alone. Remember that whenever it seems that life is too much to bear. We are here- all of us," his hand tenderly tightened its grip on my shoulder. While I was looking up at him, the flash of lightening lit up the whole hut. With gigantic, terrified eyes, I threw myself up at Master Obi-Wan, wrapping both tiny arms around him. He told me the truth that night: he was there for me, after all…. _

"Master Obi-Wan," my eyes fluttered open softly. "Hmmmmmm?" Winda blinked to me. I didn't verbally respond, glancing over at her with a low gaze. "Who's that?" She pressed, more curious than anything. "One of the men who raised me." "Your dad?" "No," I don't know who my dad is. That's when something came to me. I sat up in the middle of the spring. Winda quietly observed as my hand stretched out in front of me, fingers out showing an open palm. _"Use the Force." _My eyes closed as I concentrated on the water.

Winda's eyes grew in shock and delight at the sight of little water droplets began floating up in the air. I have no idea how, but somehow I was using the Force to lift up some of the water in the spring. Just a bit, mind you; that's all my body could handle. "Wow! How are you doing that?!" "I'm…. not sure," I answered honestly, my eyes opening up. Lots of little water in the shape of bubbles were all around me, hovering just above the surface. Yeah, cause this is the will of the Force- for me to make cute water bubble I'm sure. Still, I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. Are you seeing this, Master Obi-Wan? I can use the Force when I try it seems.

I couldn't do it for long however; soon enough my body got tired and I had to stop. The amazed Winda ogled as all the floating water fell back into the spring; I also fell backward so my back could lean up against the side. Boy, I'd never seen wider eyes on a child- not that I've seen many other children in my life. "Are you a sorcerer?!" She asked me all enthusiastic. My head shook. "No, I'm a healer. It's… just something I can do." "That's so cool! Can you teach me?" "It takes a really long time. I've been practicing my whole life and I'm still working at it," I chuckled sweetly. "Pleeeeeeeeease? I wanna levitate stuff too!" "Sorry, I really can't teach it; I don't even know how I do it. I just… do it; it's weird." When Winda appeared disappointed, I flashed her a kind smile. "Uh, Winda. I'd appreciate it if you didn't anyone about this." "Why?" My shoulder gave a shrug. "It's supposed to be a secret." "Ok," she sighed wistfully. Content with that, I laid back and shut my eyes while taking in deep, deep breathes.


	16. Dancing

"Ok, here's one. If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Carl, Mando, and I were sitting off to the side at the communal gathering; we were playing a different, improved version of Twenty Questions. The village had come together around this huge bonfire that lit up the whole place. Carl and I were eating seafood and some vegetables while playing; Mando, of course, ate nothing in front of us.

I shook my head, taking another bite of this white carrot looking plant. "That's a rhetorical question," I told Carl; he's the one who asked in the first place. "A what?" "It means there's no answer; it's a question that has no answer." "Well sure there's an answer. The tree either makes a sound or it doesn't. I wanna know which it is." "Ok, fine. Think of it this way: there may be an answer, but we'll never know what it is." "What's the point of that?" Carl took a sip of his water. "I answered your question; it still counts," I retorted, pointing at Carl with my forefinger. His eyes rolled unimpressed. "Fine. Mando, it's your turn." "Why do you keep wanting to play this game?" He asked in his usual, gruff voice. I smiled and Carl shook his head.

"For fun. Now ask a different question." "That counts," the Mandalorian shot back at him. "I have one. How many planets do you think there are?" I asked while taking a sip of my drink. "Oh, hundreds; maybe even thousands. It's a big galaxy," Carl hummed. "I wonder if it's possible to visit all of them?" I hummed to myself too, leaning back and gazing up at the night sky. "Likely not," Carl replied half-heartedly; I don't think my query could compete with meat at the moment. That's when I peered over to my side and caught Mando looking my way. This automatically made me grin.

"We can play a different game if you want, Mando." "Why does he get to decide? I, for one, like this game," Carl interjected. "It's fine. You two keep playing," Mando said. "But I….." Before I could finish my sentence, some of the villagers got up and started to gather beside the bonfire. It took me a moment to realize that all those congregating were women; adult women only. The men stayed where they were, though they had excited expressions on their faces. Within a minute, Winda's mother made her way over to us, or rather me. She grinned down at me with some elation.

"The wives are going to dance, Saoirse, if you'd like to join us," her hand extended down to me. Wives… Oh, yeah! She's a widow, so she must have been married at some point. I leapt up to my feet eagerly; I'd never danced before. Well, with other people anyway. Hand-in-hand, the mother guided me to where the other women were standing, but not before I heard Carl say to Mando: "Hear that? She said wives." I could feel the glare the Mandalorian was shooting him from here.

The dance was pretty simple. Just twirl around with your arms up in the air; we would form a circle by holding onto each other's shoulders at the end. Some men and children played these odd instrument-looking things. Dancing was actually super fun. Lots of laughing and spinning around quickly. I paused every now and again to gaze back at Mando and Carl; they both had their eyes glued on me with fervour. This only made me dance faster and better. God, I can't remember the last time I'd had that much fun.

After the dancing was over and the fire was put out, we all headed back inside. Mando and I went to the barn with two cots now laid out. While I got tucked into one, I noticed that he didn't lay down beside me. Still, I knew he wouldn't be going far so I elected not to press the matter. Instead I grinned while looking at him.

"That was so much fun! I love dancing!" "That's good." "What about you? Did you want to dance tonight?" A pregnant pause ensued. "Mandalorians don't dance." "Oh….." My eyes lowered slightly. Why am I not surprised? Still….. "So does that mean I'll never get to dance with you?" I heard myself ask before my brain could stop me. Mando stopped whatever he was doing for a moment to look back at me. It was quiet for a brief minute, then he spun back to his work. "Like I said, Mandalorians don't dance."

"That's too bad," I rolled onto my back so I could stare up at the ceiling. Well, perhaps this is for the best anyway; I'd never danced with a man before. I have no clue what that would even be like. My eyes gently shut as the back of my hand drew up to rest on my forehead. Sensing my change in mood, Mando spun his feet around to gaze at me once more. His hands rested down at his side. "But you liked it, right?" "Yes," I breathed softly. "Then that's all that matters," he proclaimed, not heading to the front door. Mando…..

"Where are you going?" Reopening my eyes, I sat up in my bed. His head was facing my direction as he was about to leave. "Just doing a round before bed. Go to sleep; I won't be long." "Alright… Mando?" I was able to stop him before he left. While he was standing there watching me, I grinned in a very gentle, sincere sense. "I just wanted to say thank you; thank you for staying here with me."

This seemed frazzle him for a second, as the Mandalorian merely stood there, his gaze drifting off to space, and his mouth silent. But eventually his head lifted back up towards me. "No need to thank me. I'm the one who took you from your home planet, after all," he said quietly. My reaction was to smile at this, cause of course it was; I smiled a lot around him I found. And I didn't even have to try; it just happened organically. "Have a good sleep," was the last thing he told me before leaving, careful to shut the door behind him.

I waited until he was gone before laying back down. My eyes were locked onto the ceiling again; my hands clenching the blanket up to my neck. Masters, I still have no idea what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do. But something tells me that I'm right where I'm supposed to be right now; without my "doing" anything, I'm where I'm meant to be. That must be true, since I'm still with Mando. If it was against the will of the Force, then we would have parted long ago. But here we are, still together after all this time….. I peered over at his empty cot beside mine. I'm not totally clueless; I know he's checking the area of the village before he goes to sleep, just to make sure its safe. The thought made my eyes lower tenderly. Yes, this must be the will of the Force; I can't hear it, but it makes sense to me. We're together because everything around us willed it.


	17. Argument

I was washing Carl's grungy shirt. Winda's mother- no, I still didn't know her name- grinned over at me. We were washing our clothes at the local stream; well, I was washing my clothes along with Carl's. I hadn't realized how dirty, smelly, or stained they were when I offered to do his laundry this morning. There had been some disturbances around the area and the two warriors in the village went to check it out. Meanwhile I was here trying to figure out just how many holes Carl's shirt had.

My finger slipped through one I found; I frowned and the mother beside me laughed. "Maybe I should just make him a new shirt," sighing I set it down on the grass in front of me. "That is very nice of you to do his laundry," she coaxed. "Please, I could smell him from the barn. Now if only I can get him to take a bath," I flashed her a playful grin and she nodded in agreement. Thank god Mando took better care of his personal hygiene. I then began to work on one of my shirts, not noticing the mother now looking at me.

"You seem very happy here." "I am," I replied without too much thought; I was attempting to get this grass stain out of my shirt. "You fit right in." "Thank you," more unthinking on my part. Stupid stain! A moment of silence passed before she continued. "Saoirse?" "Yes?" Another pause. "We want you to stay."

This did grad my full attention as my head spun to face her; she was smiling tenderly back at me. "The community is grateful to have Mando and Carl's protection." "I don't know if Carl would stay…." "But you and Mando could. He could take off his armour, pack it all away in case there's ever trouble. You and him could have a good life; you could make a home of your own here. Wouldn't that be nice?" She asked while we were staring at each other.

Me and Mando, stay here forever? Together? I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought of it, only…. I never considered staying here on Sorgan before. _"You will return to Takodana someday."_ It just seemed like going back to Takodana was a done deal; I would go home in the hopefully near future. While I liked this place a lot, it wasn't really "home" to me. I don't think anywhere but the tranquil landscape of Takodana could be.

But then, what about Mando? Where did he come into all this? We're we going to stay together until I got back on Takodana? Or would this Din person come and take me away first? Perhaps Din what's-his-name was the one who would bring me home. The consequent of that is Mando's and my parting at some point. The very thought made my stomach churn a little. No… I had to remind myself. I can't get too attached; not to Mando, or Carl, or Winda- anyone. I'm going to leave them all eventually; Master's knowledge of the future was never wrong. Din last-name-here was coming for me; sooner or later we would meet. We'd meet and balance each other…. No, I can't start a life with Mando here or anywhere else. Not when I know it wouldn't be permanent.

"I…. appreciate the offer; I really do, but…." My eyes lowered softly as I addressed Winda's mother. Before I could say more, Mando and Carl returned from the forest; neither of them looked happy. I could tell by the way Mando was walking that he was upset. "Mando?" I stood up nervously along with Winda's mother. Everyone started gathering around the warriors; all of us wearing worried expressions.

"Bad news. You can't live here anymore," Mando addressed the crowd. This was unsurprisingly not well received. Even I was taken aback. "What?" "Why?" Some of the farmers asked. "I know this is not the news you wanted to hear, but there are no other options," Carl implored them with his hands out at his sides. "You took the job," one local fired back. "Yeah," another concurred. "That was before we knew about the AT-ST," Carl rebuffed. "What is that?" A farmer asked. "The armoured walker with two enormous guns, that you knew about and didn't tell us." Insert even more upset rumbling here.

"Help us." "Help us, please!" "You're supposed to help us." "We hired you to help us. Please!" "Saoirse, do something." The sound of my name made me flinch. I think the others caught on quite quickly to where this was going as all their attention was on me now. "Yeah, Saoirse. Tell them to help us." "They'll listen to you." "Please, we need your help." That's when I rolled my head sideways to see Winda's mother staring at me with a pleading gaze. "We have nowhere to go," she said. Oh, boy; here we go.

With a deep breath in, my feet shifted round to face Mando and Carl; they were both already looking at me. "Guys, please- these people need your help," I pressed. "Saoirse….." Carl lifted up his hand to stop me, but I went on. "This is their home; there's nowhere else for them to go," my voice rose a bit. "Sure they do. This is a big planet. I mean, I've seen a lot smaller." "Carl, they must have family roots here going back generations. This land means something to them. Please, if there is anything you can do." Carl sighed, peered back at Mando then at me. "I understand, I do. But there are only two of us." That's when I knew it was time for a different tactic. Time to get some more information!

"This…. AT-ST….. It's a mech walker you said, yes?" "Yes," Mando spoke for the first time since he proclaimed the bad news. "So it's a machine, and it's on this planet?" "Basically, yeah," Carl nodded his head. An idea came to me. "Well, why don't you just blast it with the laser canons on the ship? Fly the ship above it and shoot it down."

There was a silence all around following this conception. Villagers looked at each other thoughtfully, as did Carl and Mando. The Mandalorian's head then moved downwards a sliver. "That…. could work." "Damn, why didn't I think of that?" "We just have to make sure the village is out of blast range," they discussed amongst themselves. I grinned a little, only to look down as something grabbed my hand. It was Winda's mother who was holding onto my hand while smiling candidly at me. "Thank you," she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

I don't know why but, in that moment, something else came to mind. Something much, much more troubling. My eyes slowly returned to the conversing Mando and Carl. My lips parted a tad. "T-there's no….. living beings onboard that thing, right?"

Everyone suddenly got quiet again. All eyes shifted back to the now flustered and uncomfortable duo; Carl simply glanced at Mando, who faced me directly. "There are….." And I felt sick. My cheeks paled as any semblance of a grin disappeared from my face. Carl looked immediately alarmed. "Saoirse," he raised his hand up my way. "N-no….. No, you can't kill them. No." The villagers weren't too keen on this response, speaking up again. "What choice do we have?" One farmer asked. "It's either us or them." "And like you said, we have roots here; we don't want to move." Hearing their justifications only made me feel sicker. Sick…. This was sick. We're talking about people's lives here.

"Look, Saoirse; I get it. You're compassionate; you don't like people dying under any circumstances. But what choice do we have? Like that guy back there said, it's either them or the invaders. You can't have it both ways this time," Carl tried to pursue me. "No, there has to be another way. Can't you lure them off the ship and destroy the mech once everyone's off?" I wouldn't stop pushing. I couldn't- not when we have lives on the line. "And then what would they do? They might call for backup," Mando added his two-cents again. "I'm sorry; I am. But there's no other way. If you want us to help the village, we have to take them out. We'll do it far away so you don't even hear it," Carl tried to sound soothing now. I wasn't buying it, folding my arms angrily. I was pissed; more than a little pissed. Mad at them for the murder they were about to commit and mad at myself for even suggesting the idea. If I had known there were living beings onboard….

But I wasn't done fighting yet; oh no. Now I turned to Mando- my last hope. I stared over at him with long, sensitive eyes; my lips parting once more. "Mando, please…. don't do this. Find another way; I know you can. You don't have to kill anyone." "You think he wears that blaster on his waist as an accessory?" I think Carl immediately regretted what he just said judging by the monstrous glare I shot him. My eyes then drew back to the clearly conflicted Mando. "Please….. please. All life is valuable." "Who told you that?" One idiotic farmer had the gull to call out. "You wouldn't be saying that if you're life or home were in danger," another stupidly added. Oh, the way Mando's helmet dangerously spun towards him.

It was clear by now though- the tide of the town had turned against me. I went from begging for their village to be saved, to pleading for the lives of their enemies to be spared. I'm sure many of them saw me as an insufferable, sanctimonious saint; that wasn't my intention. I just didn't want people to die; doesn't matter if they're enemies or allies. As Master Obi-Wan once told me, all life is transient and therefore equal. It is possible to defeat your enemies without ending their lives….. Ok, I'm starting to see now why I wouldn't make a good Jedi or fighter in general.

Carl looked to Mando, who was twirling around to go back inside the barn. The mood was very, very dim at this point. "We're not leaving," Winda's mother finally announced when no one would say anything. "Mando?" Carl asked the Mandalorian. He hesitated for a minute and I held my breath. "We're going to destroy it," he eventually stated. "Mando!" My eyes widened and my heart dropped. I had never been so upset with anyone before; I just felt like I was going to burst out into tears. Mando's helmet turned my way one last time before he went inside. "I'm sorry, Saoirse, but I am a Mandalorian; we annihilate our enemies." When I utterly refused to say anything, instead electing to glare at him, he sighed. "But if it'll make you feel better, I'll never kill while you're watching."


	18. Enlightening Conversation

Mando and Carl left early the next morning; we hadn't spoken a word since last night. The villagers largely avoided me except for Winda's mother and Winda. They acted sympathetic; the woman told me that couples quarrel all the time and we'll heal from this. "My husband and I would sometimes argue, but then we'd mend it," she said reassuringly. I looked at her, sighed, then left the house. I needed some time alone; time to be alone and think.

The perfect, secluded spot for this was at the hot spring. I sat beside it repeatedly dipping my hand down into the warm water; I used my palm as a cup. A sullen sigh fell from my mouth. Why am I surprised? I shouldn't be. We're talking about the same man who kidnapped me for money; who handed me over for a bounty. He's killed in front of me before, namely when he saved me from the Imperials. I didn't think about it much at the time; understandably my mind was in a weird headspace after being drugged. He's done a lot of questionable things since we been together. Hell, we're only "together" because he abducted me from my home without my consent. I would never do any of that stuff; our moral compasses are completely different. So I don't know why I should be surprised by his actions today….

I let out another sigh, continuing to play with the water. I can't believe I let myself forget…. Mando and I are nothing alike, and while I know I shouldn't get attached to him, this was painful to think about. Heh, irony- he's not Din last-name-here but we would balance each other in terms of good and bad, light and dark. That's mockery at its finest.

"Saoirse." My head shot over my shoulder to find a beloved figure standing behind me. "Master," I instinctively smiled. Master Obi-Wan… He was here with me; I finally got to see him again. "What's wrong, child?" He asked as if he didn't already know. Yet another sigh from my end. "My abductor and I are…. having a disagreement. He's going to kill some radars of the village we're staying in, despite me begging him not to." "You object to him taking another's life?" "Of course I do! It's just like you said, Master; all life is valuable. He has no right to take it; no one does." "Hmmmmmm, and yet, we do," Master Obi-Wan lowered his head a bit in a thoughtful manner. "What?" I blinked up at him puzzled.

"My child, it is true that I told you to value all life- this you must always do. But I also taught you that everything is impermanent; good, bad, light, dark. It is all fluid and must be brought into balance. The Force is our ally, and a powerful ally it is. But the will of the Force is neutral. It is neither good nor bad- it simply is, striving for balance in the universe." "M-Master, I…. I do not understand. If the Force isn't inherently good, then why can I use it to heal?" I pondered this very seriously. Master's finger rose up in a pointed fashion. "The Force can heal, but it can also harm. It depends on you how you use the Force, Saoirse." "But what does this have to do with my fight with Mando? I don't want him killing people. That goes against everything you've ever taught me."

"No, it does not. Remember what we've said about keeping balance? You must realize that not all can or will have the same disposition as you; not everyone has that luxury. The universe can never be wholly good, just as it can never be wholly bad. Master Obi-Gon, Master Yoda, and I have pressed you to use the Force for good. This is because the last man with a midi-chlorian count like yours turned to the dark side when he was prophesied to set the Force into balance." My eyes wandered into nowhere. "Anakin?" He nodded.

"So…. I'm supposed to use the Force only for good because this Anakin set it out of balance?" Master shook his head. "No; Anakin was before your time. But there are still plenty who offset the balance in the universe. You help to balance it in your own way." "Master….." "Your vow of nonviolence is what the Force demands of you, but the same cannot be said for the Mandalorian." My mouth shot open to retort this, but he wouldn't let me interrupt. "You are descendent of powerful Jedi, while he is part of an ancient martial order. Two opposites brought together by the will of the Force. He is a warrior and you are a healer; that is how you must be."

"But Master, I don't see why I should tolerate his killing anything." "Each of you must sacrifice an aspect of your old selves in order to achieve equilibrium. While you will not kill with your own two hands, you cannot stop anyone from doing to same- the vow was yours and yours alone. Likewise, the Mandalorian will only kill when absolutely necessary when you are near. You must release your desire to control him; to have him act as you will. He, in turn, will naturally adapt to you and your passive nature. He is a Mandalorian, Saoirse; accept him for who he is and give control back to him. If you desire peace, you must keep looking inward. Do so, and the Mandalorian will do the same."

After Master Obi-Wan told me all this, my eyes lowered in a soft, sincere manner. If I want peace, I must keep looking inward…. Huh, it makes sense all of a sudden. Ok, now I feel like an idiot; why didn't I see it before? I can ask Mando, and even Carl or anyone, not to kill but in the end, I have no control over their actions. And I'm ok with that. Sure, I can sacrifice my life to save someone who is going to get killed, but aside from that, I have little power. And I should trust Mando a little more too. Sure, we have different moral codes but maybe that's not a bad thing. Not the way Master put it anyway. Maybe he had to develop a differing moral code to survive as a Mandalorian; who knows what growing up with them was like. Maybe my nonviolent nature seems unreasonable to him. I had to admit, I did feel a little better now. At least I understood the situation clearer.

A smile blossomed across my lips. "Thank you, Master. I….." My words halted as I glanced up to find that I was alone by the hot spring. "He's gone….." I whispered to myself. Sighing yet again, my gaze rolled back to the water's surface; I stared at my reflection in it. I didn't know the Force was neutral, though it makes sense when I thought about it. Using the Force for evil…. It just seemed like such a foreign and impossible concept to me. But then, if that Anakin was as bad as Master says, then I can see why the men who raised me want me to get on the good side of the Force so badly. My eyes narrowed a sliver. I bet they don't want a repeat of whoever this Anakin turned out to be… Huh, I wonder if he's still alive; everyone always talks about him in past tense. If he is alive, I wonder if we'll ever meet…. Who knows? Well, my masters do, but that doesn't do me much good if they don't tell me.

I remember I was contemplating this when all of sudden, a voice shouted in the distance. It was an unfamiliar yet dangerous, angry sounding voice; one I'd certainly never heard before. It sounded like it was close to the village, almost like it was moving inside it. But that's not the worst part. The worst part- this man, whoever he was, was hollering my name.


	19. A Deadly Encounter

"Saoirse! Saoirse Jinn! Where are you?!" That voice…. that voice. My heart skipped a beat- several beats- as my blood ran cold. Out of instinct, my feet took steps backwards. This was the first time since Mando picked me up at Takodana that I felt real, unadulterated fear. I wasn't this afraid when the Imperials and that crazy Dr. Pershing had me in their custody. But the way this new man belted my name just now….. Without having to look, I knew he was dangerous- deadly, even. Not someone I wanted to face alone. My body froze petrified with my hands out at my sides; my breath stilled as I waited, prayed he'd leave. But alas, no such luck.

"I know you're here, woman! There's no use hiding from me! Get out here and I mean now! You better not make me come and find you!" It took absolutely everything I had to peer from around the tree which was currently concealing me from any line of view. The man, or monster I should say, was as terrible and frightening as you can imagine. Tall and covered head to toe; he was also wearing a mask but looked nothing like the Mandalorian. In his right hand was a very large gun and in the left one of those red, beeping trackers. He had on a dark cloak with the hood up. His physical appearance matched the tone of his voice: very, very chilling.

Whoever he was, he waited for less than a half a second before shouting his tirade again. "I'll search every house one by one, killing all its residents if I have to!" How this beast was able to project he voice like that from behind a mask, I had no clue. What he threatened, however, made my eyes slowly widen in horrific realization. The villagers wisely stayed hidden in their huts, giving the village this sort of abandoned aura. Yet despite this, it was obvious that there were people around; not just me as indicated by his insidious tracking fob.

It hit me gradually at first, then sped up to a rapid pace. My eyes were enormous and staring off into space in utter, tragic horror. This fiend…. He was threatening the safety of the villagers in order to flush me out. And what's more horrific- I knew it would work. The moment he broadcasted this, my subconscious mind had already made its decision. Mando wasn't here; neither was Carl…. I was all alone to face him. Mando wasn't here….. My lips parted the tiniest sliver. I was unarmed and likely going to die if I confronted this villain….. But there was nothing I could do. I value all life…. There's nothing I can do.

I was completely numb to the sensation of my legs moving. One foot stepped in front of the other without it consciously registering. With my vision almost blurred, I automatically walked out from the thicket into the light of the village perimeter. The man's feet immediately shifted; he turned to face me. His gun raised on impulse; the tracker was beeping like crazy.

"Saoirse?" This was the quietest I've heard his voice, though it was still mightily vicious. I didn't answer; I couldn't. All words turned to cotton in my throat. I guess he took my omission to speak as a confirmation. He was now candidly pointing his gun's barrel at me. "Finally. You have no idea how long it took me to find you," his finger rested on the trigger. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe….. He's going to shoot me, right here and now. He knows that if I run, he can punish me by slaughtering the innocent villagers…. Winda and her mother. No, I can't run; I can't try to run away or even call for Mando. If I was alone, it would be entirely different…. But I'm not alone. I value all life; I was born to be a healer. If I can metaphorically heal this village by dying for its members, I'd do it without a second thought.

The creep shut one eye to steady his aim onto me. "Saoirse Jinn, consider this a death sentence by the order of the Imperial Empire," he hissed. The Empire? What is, or was, that? These were my only questions on the subject as he readied his gun in his hands. His last few words to me, I'll never forget: "I don't like killing girls, but for your bounty, I'll make an exception."

Before I could close my eyes to brake for the impact of being shot, I felt something hard crashing into me. Literally crashing into me, like a speeding spaceship. It was enough force to knock me off my feet, sending me straight onto the ground beside where I was standing. The pain didn't register right away; it just felt like something heavy pressing into me. After wincing shut, my eyes shot open to see Mando laying overtop of me; he was shielding me with his body. Both his arms were protectively out and close at my sides.

Like five seconds I was tackled down, an ear-shattering gunshot rang through the air. It was so loud that it sent birds flying in a panic in the nearby forest. After a second, Mando sat up in such a way that I was still laying in between his legs. We looked to where the shot came from. The only part of that I saw was the monster felt to his knees; Carl was standing behind him with his own gun aimed at the beast's back. Mando then proceeded to block my view as I heard the now dead body fall to the ground. It was around now that faces began to nervously peer from outside their houses.

"Are you alright?" The Mandalorian asked me. My mouth opened but no words came out yet; I was still too stunned and traumatized by what just occurred. I was able to put the pieces together in my head, though. Mando ran for me; not the guy wanting to kill me. I bet it was because Carl was right behind him; he knew that Carl would handle the villain. So Mando left that to him, choosing instead to address my safety first instead of shooting that guy himself. His first instinct when he saw that I was in danger was to come to me…. Not take out the man threatening me but protect me himself. The very notion helped steady my breathing as I stared up at Mando's helmet.

Meanwhile Carl took a few steps forward and reached down to pick up the tracker, which fell from the fiend's person into the dirt when his corpus collapsed. He inspected it; his face washing over in horror and deep concern. "Mando, what is this? Was he using this to track Saoirse?" Carl sounded appalled, enraged, and terrified all at once. "Stay here," the Mandalorian told me before getting up to go over to Carl and the gruesome body. "Mando, what does he want with Saoirse? Is there something you've neglected to tell me?" Carl's voice was raising. "Give it to me," Mando held his hand out for it. Carl frowned, taking a step backwards.

"He almost shot her! Why?! What was he doing here? We know how he found her, but that doesn't answer why he wanted to murder Saoirse." Mando hesitated to answer for a moment; his head tilted downwards ever so slightly in a thoughtful manner. "That doesn't matter."

"What do you mean? Course it matters! She could have died, Mando! I mean, what would have happened if we hadn't arrived when we did? How many more of these fobs are out there? How many people are searching for her?" By now, the whole stunned village was listening to them along with me. People apprehensively came out into the open; not that neither man took notice.

Again, Mando took his time responding; it was clear he was considering this too by the way his head moved. "I don't know." "You don't know?" Carl spat back angrily. "I'm handling it," the Mandalorian's hand raised. "You're clearly not. Wait… Is that why you brought her here? Because you knew these…. these bounty hunters are tracking Saoirse?" A moment of silence passed between them. Mando's helmet turned gently to face Carl. "Yes," he answered honestly.

Carl contemplated this for a minute, licking his lips and glaring off to the side. The mood was still very, very tense. "Then they'll keep coming." "Yes….." "They know she's here; you'll have to leave, and the sooner, the better." "I know," Mando then threw the tracker back onto the ground and crushed it with his boot.


	20. Goodbye Sorgan

Not only Mando and Carl but everyone treated me different after that morning. While Mando and especially Carl grew more protective- if that were possible- the locals actively avoided me. I think they saw me as a threat; a risk to everyone around me. Carl, by contrast, wouldn't leave my side. This worked out as Mando went back to the ship before us; he didn't say why. Carl was tasked with watching over me while he was gone, which Carl did without complaint.

Realizing that this would probably be my last time to take a bath for the foreseeable future, I took the opportunity to clean myself. Carl stationed himself behind a tree, keeping his arms folded and eyes on the village just in case. I'll admit, I felt safer knowing Carl was nearby, though I do wish it was Mando. I still don't know why he went ahead of me.

The Mandalorian wasn't gone for long though. Soon enough he returned, and we loaded up the cart. Once that was done, Carl helped me get onto the cart. He looked at me, then at Mando; they were standing beside each other. "You sure you got nothing to tell me?" Carl asked for the last time. "No," Mando stated simply and to the point; I think he was being cautious about who knew about my bounty. Even our friend Carl… The ex-shock trooper eyed him for a moment then nodded. "Are you sure you don't want an escort?" "I appreciate the offer, but we're going to by past the town and head right to the razor crest." Carl put his bag over his shoulder. "Well then, until our paths cross," he held out his hand for Mando's. The Mandalorian didn't hesitate to take it. "Until our paths cross."

Then Carl looked at him. His lips first curled into a slight, nervous frown before he forced himself to grin. "And you- take care of yourself, ok?" "I will," I smiled back. To my surprise, Carl's smile turned genuine. His hand reached up to touch my cheek; I actually blushed quite frazzled when he caressed it. After a moment, Carl drew back his hand and gave Mando a serious expression; his grin faded once more. "She'd better be in one piece the next time we meet."

Mando and I rode the cart back to the ship. I helped Mando load everything back onboard. I had just carried a box on when Mando approached me from the open door; he stopped just near me and I could sense his eyes on me. "Saoirse." "Yes?" I set the box down and straightened up to face him. "Follow me," he directed before heading further into the ship. I did as I was told- I let the Mandalorian lead me to a small room I'd never noticed before. It wasn't really a room; more like a bed with a door. That's when I noticed that my cot was nowhere to be found.

"This is for you," Mando stood aside, letting me see the bed in the compact chamber. My feet shuffled closer so I could get a good look; my head popped inside curiously. "A bed?" I blinked back at him astonished. "I thought it would be more comfortable than the cot," was his reply. All I could was stare- stare in utter astonishment. He made this…. for me? Just so I would be comfortabler and sleep better? Mando watched my dumbfounded and elated expression, patiently waiting for me to break the silence.

"This is why you came back earlier?" I heard the sound of my own voice seconds later. He nodded softly. My eyes merely glanced back to the bed. This…. is the kindest gesture anyone has ever done for me; well, anyone still alive anyway. I just didn't know what to say… I suddenly felt all light and bubbly inside. Still at a loss for words, a wide, organic smile luminated across my lips as I peered back at the Mandalorian. My fingers reached out to caress the top of the bed's covers. "Thank you; that was so nice of you…. Thank you." Why he did this, I had no explanations, but I was just so grateful. Mando may be the "strong, silent" type, but he shows his kindness in quiet, sincere ways.

"One more thing," the Mandalorian pulled something out from behind his back. Like a flip had been switched, my grin immediately faded once he revealed a blaster; one I'd never seen before. I frowned, gazing up to him now reluctantly. Despite my initial reaction, he still held it out for me. "Keep this on your person at all times," he directed. I folded my arms, hiding my hands under my armpits. "I'm not taking that." "It's just a precaution." "Mando, you know I took a vow against killing anything- even my enemies. I can't use that," I stood my grounds. So did Mando. "You don't have to kill anyone. If someone targets you again, you can shoot them in the hand or the leg." "Mando…." I hesitated. "You'll have an easier time escaping if you do," he wouldn't stop foisting it on me.

Now, I know why he's doing this. The scenario back there must have really alarmed him; it must have hit home to Mando that he won't always be around to protect me. That, and I'm woefully unarmed. Without him or Carl there, I'm practically a sitting duck; I was when he came got me, after all. Yet I already knew that I'd never use that blaster, and I have a feeling Mando also knew that too. But my possessing it would simply make him feel better- though I had a sneaking suspicion that he told himself it was to make me feel better. Heh, men.

Seeing as he wasn't going to let this go, I reluctantly took the gun; it was a lot heavier than I imagined it being. Mando watched me inspect it over; after that, he gave me a quick lesson on how to use it and keep it clean. I thanked him and set it down onto the bed. Seemingly satisfied with that, the Mandalorian went back to the control centre and begun to fly our ship away from the planet. We never returned to Sorgan.


	21. Air Attack

I soon figured out why Mando installed me a bed where he did. It had a door which could open and close, and most importantly, lock. While it was not the universe's comfiest bed, he clearly did the best with what he had- which admittedly wasn't much. I didn't close the door while asleep on my new bed with Mando onboard; I knew I was safe with him here. Plus it comforted me to hear him press buttons and swivel around in his chair; just to hear him close by. I actually think I slept better here like this than back home. How's that for ironic?

My eyes were shut as I continued drifting off through a land of dreams. These dreams were memories; core memories stored safely in the deep recesses of my heart. My mouth was open, and my breathing was low. Dreaming…. Dreaming….

_I suppose I was unaware that I was able to love, or when I started loving. From as long as I can remember, I've always loved my three ghost guardians. I also loved the animals in the forest and the flowers. I never had to try and love anything- it came so naturally to me. And no one ever taught me about romantic love either. No one ever said…._

_It was a bright, warm summer day; I remember the sky seemed very, very high that particular afternoon. I was around sixteen or so; old enough to not be considered such a child anymore, despite what my masters called me. My eyes were shut, and my arms stretched out at my sides; my hair was everywhere in the grass. There, I laid under that seemingly endless, blue sky. And I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. _

_In that very instance, I truly believed that I would live and die on that planet. I never thought I would leave; I couldn't see a reason why I would leave. It didn't matter to me right then that I might never meet another living person like me. I was content with that- only knowing my spirit masters and the animal inhabitants. I was content with that….. _

_My fingers moved, feeling the blades of grass run up against the sides of my fingers. I took a deep, deep breath in, expanding my chest. Only then…. what was the point of all this training? Why try so hard to become a healer if there'll never be anyone around to heal? The older I got, the less sense it made to me. I began to practice healing because my masters told me I was Force-sensitive and to use my gift for good. Essentially, I started healing because I was told to. But now, I see it as a core part of my identity: I am a healer. I was born to be a healer. That was my purpose- that was the will of the Force. Whatever that meant._

_Taking another long inhale, my eyes softly fluttered open a tad to gaze up at the sky. The sky… Why did it look so different today? So massive and untouched? Only, I knew that wasn't true; people flew ships through the sky lots. It wasn't untouched…. only by me it wasn't. The thought made my fingers curl a little; my mouth was a thin, flat line. A warm, summer breeze blew over me, swaying the grass all around my body. _

_I've noticed that since I've become older, things appear a bit differently to me. The wind blows a little crisper. The sky feels a little higher. The outline of clouds seemed a little softer. And my body was growing and altering in several different places. All of this confirmed the fact that I wasn't a kid anymore. I was growing up, slowly but surely. And with that, my view of my reality was also changing. The next breath I drew in was calmer, lighter. _

_And yet, here I am- destined to stay on Takodana alone. I was still content with that, though I'd be lying if I worried a piece of me wouldn't be someday. Everything about me and around me was shifting, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. The only thing that stayed consistent was my staying here, which I was glad about. I didn't want to go; I didn't want future me to want to go either. There was so much changing already….. _

_I could steady myself by asking questions. I could ask about what was going to happen to me, or why I was trying so hard to become a good healer when it was just me here. I could do that, instead of letting myself plunge headfirst through all these transformations. I felt like I was here, alone and confused with all this. Like slipping into a void lacking knowledge; an ignorant darkness with next to no chance of spotting a single light to guide my way out. And there I was, left in a desperate search in an abyss for the secrets hidden just beyond my view. My eyes opened tenderly again as I continued to stare up at the high sky. How far should I go in search of these answers? My lips parted a sliver. How far can I go?_

My eyes shot open as I was jolted awake by a rough shake; the ship had a raddle. Now up, I stretched and yawned, raising my arms up into the air as I sat up. At first, I didn't think anything of it; this craft bumps sometimes. It happens.

That dismissal went pretty fast however, when the ship started moving at warp speed. Blasters could be heard from outside. Uh oh; that can't be good. Red lights could be seen flashing through the window. My head poked out to see an incredibly stressed Mando at the wheel. I knew he was stressed; he didn't even seem to notice that I was up yet.

"Hand over the girl, Mando," a brand-new male voice announced from the communicator. Wait… Oh boy. It took me less than half a second to understand what was happening. Great; these freaks are chasing in space now too? Fantastic.

There was this sudden loud blast and the ship shook terribly. I'm guessing the noise came from us getting hit by a laser bullet. By now, the Mandalorian was moving his head every which way panicked. "I might let you live," the voice claimed. Huh, yeah right; I've seen enough of you bounty hunter jerks to know that you don't play fair.

Another blast hit the ship; this was getting scary now. This was followed by another incredible bang- this one louder than the others. A large, red button started beeping, prompting Mando to click some buttons. "Hold on," I think he was saying more to himself than me, since he didn't know I was awake yet.

The ship did a turn, causing me to almost bump my head. It was after this, once the craft was upright again, that I left my tiny bedroom. My feet stumbled out as my arms flailed around. "Come on," I heard Mando mutter to himself. More shots fired at our ship. "I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold." Um, this loser does know that I'm onboard, right? If he wants me alive, he better not blow us up; though I doubt his logic skills were that good.

The Mandalorian suddenly pulled back on a gear. This sent both him and me flying forward; him in his seat and me onto the dashboard. Mando's head yanked over to me in surprise. But before could say anything, the ship moved backwards and- you guessed it- sent me falling back. I was like a literal rag doll in that moment. While I tumbled onto the floor behind his chair, Mando turned his full attention back onto the spacecraft now ahead of us. "That's my line," he said before pressing a button. You could hear him scream "noooooooo" from here. I kept my head down so not to see.

Immediately preceding this, my protector began clicking all sorts of buttons in a desperate attempt to regain control of the ship. His head then practically mad dashed around to where I was sorely getting up. "Are you ok?" I simply responded with a groan; more an annoyed groan than an agonizing one. He gazed forward. "Losing fuel," he stated while looking at the screen. Right after that he shut off all the lights on the dashboard and around us. Oh great; now it's dark on the ship too. Mando's helmet peered back at me and I blinked over at him. "Can I go back to bed now?"


	22. Financial Woes

"We're running low on fuel," Mando informed me. "Plus I think the ship has taken a fair bit of damage," I scanned the still flickering ceiling above me. Mando pressed some more buttons then turned to me. "I'll need to bring it to a repair shop." I nodded and the Mandalorian's head drifted down a little. "We don't have much cash." "Is there enough to fix the ship and get more fuel?" I asked. Mando sighed. "Barely. I'll have to find a job and earn some more money." "Is there anything I can do?" He shook his head. I thought for a brief moment, rubbing my thumb under my chin.

"Well I'll just stay with the ship then, I guess." "No," he shot that down in less than a second- impressive. But I grinned reassuringly. "Mando, it's fine. This craft has lock-down mode; it'll keep me safe so long as I stay inside." "The lock-down configuration is broken, and the ship has internal damage. You're not staying on here." "But what am I supposed to do? Go with you? No offense- to me- but I think I'd just be getting in the way. It makes more sense for me to stay put." "There are still hunters with tracking fobs out there. One found you on Sorgan of all places. It's not safe for you to stay by yourself anywhere." "I still got the blaster you gave me," I cooed. Ha, the look I'm sure Mando was shooting me from the other side of his helmet. The very idea made me inwardly burst out laughing.

Mando remained adamant, however. He flipped some switches and looked forward. "The answer is no. End of discussion." End of discussion, he says. I don't think so. My fingers twiddled as I too glanced out the window. "What am I going to do, then? You want me to go with you?" A moment of silence. "No," he sighed. "Then you're going to need to find someone to stay with me," a, heh, babysitter if you will. Mando didn't reply, which showed that he was contemplating the idea. I peered over at him through the corner of my eye. "You got anyone you can trust?"

The Mandalorian made me stay on the ship once we arrived back on Takodana. We came just to pick up an old acquaintance. "Kuiil!" I ran over to greet him excitedly when he and Mando came onboard together. "Nice to see you again, Saoirse. Though I'd be lying if I said I ever expected to see again," he took my extended hand waiting out for his. "I know," shutting my eyes, I chuckled softly. "And now Mando's come all this way just to fetch me so I can be with you. How strange the will of the universe unravels itself," he shook his head a tad. My eyes widened as I continued to stare at him. What did….. what did he just say? Does this mean he knows about the Force, then? Luckily, Mando didn't appear to hear this, instead loading Kuiil's things on desk and going to the driver's seat.

We flew to another planet called Tatooine; apparently there was someone who could fix our ship there. Once we landed in what essentially looked to be a junkyard, Mando opened the door and stepped off first. Kuiil and I were close behind. The place looked like a dump- though it's not like I've been to many, or any, repair shops in my life. We all blinked as these cute, little robots suddenly sprang up upon our arrival. I suppose they got too close, however, because out of nowhere Mando started shooting at them. I gasped appalled. I know he promised not to kill while I'm watching, and technically bots aren't living, but they were somebody's property. And all they did was come up to the ship with tools in their hands. They made a screaming-like noise and huddled back into the ground.

"Hey! Hey!" A woman's voice cut through the yard all of a sudden. We all looked to see this messy, yet kind-looking older lady emerge from the garage doorway. "You damage one of my droids, you'll pay for it," she waggled her clipboard at Mando angrily. "Just keep them away from her," Mando pointed my way. Me? My head turned to him in surprise. What issue does he have with droids being around me? "What? Your wife afraid of droids or something?" Kuiil looked at me, I blushed a tad, and Mando didn't say anything.

The mechanic came forward, paying attention to our ship now. "Let's look at your ship," she walked while giving it a scan over. The Mandalorian trailed her while Kuiil and I stood off to the side to quietly observe. She gave the side a good few pounds with her fist. "Ooh, look at that," she then held this weird, beeping thing up towards the exterior. "You got a lot of carbon scorin' building up top. Yeah… if I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a shootout," she gazed back at the Mandalorian. My fingers curled together but I didn't say anything. What she doesn't know won't kill her.

We watched as the mechanic went in for a closer inspection of the battle scars; she did not look impressed. Not at all. "Special tool for that one. Oh yeah, I'm gonna have to rotate that. You got a fuel leak! Look at that; this is a mess. How did you even land? That's gonna set you back," she finally came back over to us. Uh oh, I bit my bottom lip nervously. Mando said we don't have much money left; plus, Kuiil will need some compensation too. That's also excluding food and lodging…. Oh please, please don't be too expensive, I silently prayed.

"I've got five hundred Imperial Credits," Mando informed her. He held out the money and she glanced at it unswayed. "That's all you got?" She took the bag. The mechanic then proceeded to consider it for a moment, turning to her droids. "Well, what do you guys think?" Some bots motioned "yay" while others "nay". In the end, she relented. "That should at least cover the hanger." "And lodging for them," Mando pointed at us. I smiled at her while Kuiil didn't do anything. This was definitely a surprise for the poor woman.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said they could stay here?" "Just until my ship is done," Mando offered. "Does this look like a boarding house?" Her arms threw up at her sides. "I'll pay," the Mandalorian went on. "You darn right you'll pay. Who leaves their companions at a repair shop? You couldn't find an inn in town?" "No." She sighed, now exasperated. "This isn't going to be cheap, especially if I'm expected to provide food." "I'll get you your money," Mando stated flatly. "Hmmm, I've heard that before," her hand planted on her hip. "Just remember….." "Yeah, no droids. I heard ya; you don't have to say it twice. I'll keep them away from your wife by putting them to work on your ship instead," she cut Mando off.

Seemingly, or at least a little, satisfied with this, Mando stepped back over to us. "Stay here; I'm going out for a bit." "Alright," I said and Kuiil merely nodded. I waved as my protector left through the side door. Then I looked at Kuiil, then at the mechanic. She was glancing back at us with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Great. First I get landed with this big job which I probably won't get paid for, and now I'm running a bed-and-breakfast." I think it was the moment she spat this that I decided that I liked her. This woman had a kick to her; she seemed pretty entertaining to me.


	23. Mando Leaves

"I don't think I'm very good at this game," I scratched my head while staring at the deck in my hand. My masters didn't teach me to play cards back home. "You don't have to be good; you just need to be lucky. Speaking of which, I'm in. And I'm going to raise you three bolts and a motivator." Me, Kuiil, and the mechanic- her name was Peli Motto- had been playing cards for roughly an hour now. Meanwhile Peli's bots worked away on our ship, careful to stay clear of me- per Mando's orders. Speaking of Mando….

We all flinched at his sudden arrival; he came in through the same door he exited from. "Mando!" I perked up happily. Good, he wasn't gone for too long. He came over to where we were sitting and Peli stood up. "I've started the repair on the fuel leak. There we go… We're having some setbacks I wanted to talk to you about; it's going to take me a lot longer than expected," she explained while pushing buttons and whacking the side of our ship annoyed. Then Peli looked at Mando, who was going onboard to grab his bag. Wait, his bag? My eyebrow raised. "But I figured you were good for the money, since you have extra mouths to feed," her hand motioned back to us. "Thank you," Mando told her in a very kind voice. My heart dropped when he started to walk away again. Peli followed him, as did we.

"Oh… Oh, guess I was right; you got a job, didn't you?" "You got a job, Mando?" I reiterated Peli's query. The Mandalorian exited through another door, trailed by the three of us. "You know, it's costing me a lot of money to keep these droids even powered up," the mechanic told Mando. He ignored her, heading over to one of the two weird, bike-looking vehicles waiting outside. They were hovering just above the sand. Now for sure my heart dropped out of my chest as I began to realize what was happening.

There was this young, handsome, rugged fellow propped up against one of the bikes. His arms were folded, and he had this air of swagger about him. "Hey, Mando. What do you think? Not too shabby, huh?" Mando scanned his bike over in an unimpressed manner; he played with one of the gadgets and looked to the man. He shrugged. "What do you expect? This ain't Coreillia." Mando didn't say anything. My heart skipped a beat when he set his bag down onto the back of his bike.

"Mando," I heard my mouth say without my brain's permission. All eyes were on me quite suddenly, while I stood there staring back at the Mandalorian. "Whoa! Well hello, beautiful," swagger man smirked cockily at me. But I didn't move my eyes off Mando; it was hitting me hard what was about to happen. He quickly finished securing his bag onto the back and came over to stand in front of me. I merely gazed up at him, waiting…..

"Stay with Kuiil, and don't leave the shop," Mando instructed. I nodded, then nervously bit my bottom lip. "H-how….. long are you going to be gone for?" You could hear the worry in my tone. "Eh, couple of days," swagger man replied for him. Peli shot him a glare, silently telling him to shut it. Meanwhile my eyes lowered a bit in disappointment. I knew this was coming; he told me himself that he wouldn't be taking me on any jobs with him. Still…. This would be the longest we'd been apart from each other since the day he picked me up back home.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Mando reassured me. I grinned up at him, though admittedly it was a sad grin. "I know you will… I-It'll be fine; two days will go by like that," I tried- in vain- to sound optimistic. Mando's head lowered a tad. "Remember to carry your blaster." "Always," I nodded gently. That gave me an idea; I have something from him to carry…. Now, for some unexplainable reason, I wanted him to have something from me. I don't know why it was so important in that moment to me, but it was. It really was….

I pulled out the now dried pink flower Kuiil had bought for me back on the castle; I brought it off the ship last time. Everyone, particularly Mando, watched as I lifted up his gloved hand and carefully set it on his palm. I was smiling genuinely now. But before Mando or anyone could say anything, my eyes shown up at him. "Hurry back. I'll be waiting….." "I will," Mando responded in a very soft tone. I watched as he set the blossom safely behind his breast armour plate….. the spot right above his heart.

With that, the Mandalorian went back over to the bike and mounted it. My lips parted as my heart skipped another beat; this coil curled itself around both my lungs. "Mando!" My hand reached out on its own accord. He glanced back to me and I blinked several times, comprehending what I'd just done; my lips parted a sliver. "Be careful…. please." A very brief yet tender moment of silence proceeded. Mando nodded more considerably, sincerely than I'd ever seen before….. Then, after one last look straight at me, he and swagger man rode off into the distance. I didn't move from the spot where I was standing until they were out of view; my hand planted on my beating chest.

By now both Peli and Kuiil were watching me in a sort of awe, not that I noticed. Soon enough though, Peli simply waved her hand in the air. "Ah, they'll be fine. He's a Mandalorian," she turned to head back inside. "Yes; yes, he is," Kuiil stoically agreed with her. He said that, but he was looking at me while he said it. While I was watching Mando drive off, he was watching me…. Kuiil watched me and knew something I had yet to know about Mando…. and myself.


	24. Talk with Kuiil

[Author's Note: I did a lot of research for this chapter and got my info namely from online and the books. I tried my best!]

The next two days were uneventful. Kuiil and I helped Peli wherever we could. Since Kuiil had experience with machines, he was able to help her, and the droids repair our ship. And as it soon became apparent that I was the best cook of the three of us, I prepared the food. Kuiil and I also got closer, spending more and more time together. There was this one night, however; the second night to be exact.

I was in the yard, staring up at the sky. While he and Peli talked shoptalk, I had my own discreet conversation with my great uncle. He didn't tell me anything new; just reassured me and told me to keep training. I agreed and said good night to him. Seconds after Master's spirit vanished into thin air, Kuiil came out to join me. I grinned over to him in a welcoming fashion.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked me. "Just looking at the stars," I gazed up, wrapping both arms around me. It wasn't cold or even cool out; I just wanted to hold myself for a bit. Kuiil also peered up and nodded. "Waiting for the Mandalorian to return?" He inquired. I nodded without thinking. "Yes. I just wanna know he's alright." "I'm sure he is. He's a hardened warrior." My head nodded slowly again. "Yeah, I guess he is….." My eyes wandered off into nowhere thoughtfully.

Kuiil waited for a minute, glancing my way and shifting his stance a bit. "By the way, what happened after you left Takodana?" "Huh?" I blinked to him puzzled. "When Mando took you last time. I thought he was bringing you in to collect a bounty," Kuiil clarified. "Oooooh! Uh, he did. Well, he brought me in to these guys called the Imperials. They paid Mando and this doctor got really excited to see me. It was really…. creepy. But I didn't feel "in danger", if that makes any sense. I was scared, sure, but…. I don't know. I seemed… valuable to them, somehow." There was a brief pause here. Kuiil remained quiet, letting me carry on at my leisure. I smiled a little and tilted my head back up to the sky. "And then, out of nowhere, Mando came back for me. He sold me to them, and then he saved me. We almost died, low key- but with the help of some other Mandalorians, we managed to get out of there alive." Kuiil nodded considerably. "Did he say why he returned for you?" He proceeded to ask. I looked at Kuiil and opened my mouth, but no words spilled out. Not right away anyway…. "N-no, actually…. he didn't," my eyes trailed off once more. That's right; he never did tell me why…. And I guess I never asked. Still…

Kuiil thought to himself for a moment, bobbing his head up and down. "Do you know why Mando is a Mandalorian?" He then inquired. I shook my head. Despite how much time we've spent together, I knew literally nothing of Mando's past. I admitted was curious but wanted him to tell me when he was ready. So I never asked….. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit interested. "The Mandalorians picked him up after his parents were killed." "His parents were killed?! By who?" "Don't know; he never said. But as a result of the combative nature of the Mandalorian culture, there is never any shortage of Mandalorian orphans," Kuiil expounded. "So were his parents also Mandalorians, then?" "Could be. Part of the Mandalorian code, or "way" as they call it, is to adopt children who lose their parents in battle into another family in the clan. I suppose that is what happened with Mando."

I nodded while mulling this over. So Mando was an orphan….. just like me. No wonder he has trust issues. He doesn't seem to have attachment issues though…. "That's why he's still a Mandalorian? They're like his family?" "In a way," Kuiil's head turned forward. So did mine. "Mmmm, he's already part of a clan, and well…. I'm not." Kuiil then looked in my direction but didn't say anything. I went on. "We're from different worlds, him and I. I don't even know how long we'll stay together for. I don't think I should get too attached to him, and yet…. I just miss him when he's gone. But I know that's crazy- we're too different. He's a warrior and I'm a healer…. We're opposites; about as opposite as you can get. And I don't want to be a burden on him…." My fingers twiddled uncomfortably.

Kuiil watched me; his eyes soulful and sincere. They lowered a bit; his lips parted softly. "You're beginning to care for the Mandalorian," he stated inquisitively. I looked his way but didn't say anything. What was there to be said that I hadn't already said? "You wish it not to be so, though?" His eyebrow raised. My mouth opened but the words in my throat hesitated for a moment. Then I chuckled- a hollow chuckle. "Oh, I don't even know how Mando feels about all this. He's not the most… expressive guy in the universe. Besides…. I don't know if marriage is a part of Mandalorian culture," my eyes lowered intently.

Kuiil appeared confused by this statement, as shown by the way he cocked his head a little. I flashed him a kind smile, suddenly overcome by the need to explain myself. "When I was young, my master once said that I had a great compacity for love. A singular type of love…. a kind that was forbidden by his uh, "clan". Anyway, he was alluding to marriage, meaning that I am destined to marry, I think…." Master Yoda's prophecies have never been wrong before, after all. I took a long, deep sigh; my eyes tenderly shut. "I never thought about getting married before but if it is the will of the For-….. uh, universe! The will of the universe…. Then there's nothing I can do about it." Besides, the idea of marriage was starting to grow on me. And I knew that was because of the time Mando and I spent together.

"Your master told you this?" Kuiil sounded very serious at this exact moment. His tone of voice made me blink over to him in surprise. "Uh, yes? When I was a child." He nodded severally, then turned to face me. There was a twinkle in the corner of his eyes. "Very interesting; very interesting, indeed." "Kuiil?" I pondered, wondering what he meant by that. But he merely grinned ever so slightly. "To clarify for you: yes, Mandalorians can get married." "They can?!" I gasped astonished. I don't know why that shocked me so much; I mean, they had kids in their clan- they didn't just appear out of nowhere.

Kuiil nodded for the last time in our conversation. "They usually wed other Mandalorians, but they can also marry non-Mandalorians. They are very particular about their marriage ceremony too. A Mandalorian can get married anywhere, so long as they recite the proper vow." "What's the vow?" I asked. He looked at me. "We are one whether together or apart, we will share everything and we will raise our children as warriors."

My heart sank. "That's a vow I can never take. I can't raise my children in the way of the warrior," if I can even have children, that is. Kuiil's eyes sharpened onto me. "You don't have to. You're not a Mandalorian." And I looked at Kuiil….. I looked his way and realized what he was saying.

"Are you two gonna come in to eat or what?! Food's getting cold in here!" We both flinched and turned to see Peli shouting at us from inside. We grinned at each other. "Come. Let's head in," Kuiil's hand reached out for my arm; his palm gently rested on my skin. The two of us were about to go in when all of a sudden, the back door opened. I excitedly spun my head around, thinking that Mando had returned. To all our surprise however, swagger man stepped through the threshold. Swagger man, and only swagger man. My heart skipped a beat as my blood grew cold.

"Hey there," he greeted us casually, coming further inside. "You're back?" Peli half asked, half noted. "Where's Mando?" I asked, not beating around the bush. "Oh, he'll be along soon," swagger man shrugged. By now Kuiil and Peli both looked nervous; we all glanced at each other. My lips then let out a gasp at the sight of swagger man pulling out a gun and aiming it at me- only at me. His smirk was deadly and long as he eyed me down. "Let's be ready to greet him."


	25. Another Abduction

I held my breath when the door opened. Oh no, he's back….. Swagger man- I previously learned his name is Toro Calican- made it very clear that the three of us were going to be used as leverage against Mando when he returned. Since Kuiil was the only one good with a blaster between us, Toro tied his hands behind his back. Peli was able to keep her hands free, probably to cuff Mando. And as for me, well…. let's just say he got a little handsy.

Toro forced us all to board our ship, where we waited for Mando to come back. That didn't take too long; he arrived just after nightfall. Now, I knew that Mando suspected something wasn't right. Instead of barging into the place, he took his time, cautiously stepping on the ground with his gun at the ready. He was smart enough not to call out for me or Kuiil; he knew what he was doing. I flinched startled at the ringing of one of the robots running across the yard. All Peli's droids hid safely inside. But when the Mandalorian came into view- that's when things got really scary.

"Took you long enough, Mando," Toro had the gull to shout. Mando held up his blaster as we all emerged from the darkness. Peli was in front of Toro, who was guiding her with the tip of his gun. Kuiil was on the other side and behind was Toro, holding me pressed up against him. His arm coiled around my centre, firmly locking me into place. I think he held me in this exact, intimate position to hurt Mando. "I usually keep my hands off married women, but you I'll make an exception," he said before grabbing me. I sent Mando a pleading yet deeply concerned expression.

"Looks like I'm calling the shots now, huh partner?" Mando nonverbally responded by lifting his gun even more. Ok, he's mad; like really mad. Livid, I'd say. But also, nervous considering the three lives Toro currently held in his hand. "Drop your blaster and raise 'em." The Mandalorian looked at me then did as he was told. "Cuff him," Toro pushed Peli in the back with his blaster barrel. She huffed and went down behind the Mandalorian. While she was doing that, the villain glanced over to me. I frowned up at him furiously. He was threatening Mando now, on top of my friends. That is not ok; not at all.

Toro simply smirked at the look on my face and turned back to the Mandalorian. "You're a guild trailer, Mando. I'm willing to bet….." Before he could finish his sentence, a few strange voices came from the front door. We all turned in equal amounts of surprise and confusion. It couldn't be customers; Peli's shop was closed and it was getting late. I actually gasped once they got close enough to hear what they were saying.

"What's her name again?" "Something pretentious like Salieri? Saoirse?" "Saoirse- that's it!" "Whatever. Just find her; she's close." "Saoirse, where are yoooooou? Come out, come out, wherever you are." It sounded like two men and a woman. I winced my eyes shut in agony. No! Not now; why are they're bounty hunters here now, and they're looking for me! Everyone blinked as they stepped out into the yard; their faces contorting to ones of bewilderment as well upon seeing us.

"Mando!" The strongman gleefully announced. The others also looked pleasantly surprised, albeit puzzled to find the Mandalorian here. They all looked…. weird, to put it gently. The woman looked the strangest; it was clear she wasn't human. The strongman was odd too; his skin was red, and he had horns popping out of his head. The second man seemed to be human, but he wore an awful lot of guns on his person; he was bald and young, maybe thirty-five years old. They all had this instantaneous criminal vibe about them. It didn't help that they were looking for me either.

"Whoa, Mando! How long's it been, man? I don't think we've seen you since the last time we were hired on a gig together," the bald man exclaimed. "What are you doing?" The alien lady asked Peli in an unimpressed tone; Peli was still in the middle of supposedly cuffing Mando's hands together. The five of us acted like we didn't know what to do; luckily none of the newcomers had noticed Toro holding me in place yet. Peli and Kuiil's eyes nervously shifted back to peer at me.

"What are you doin' here? Don't tell me you're searching for the same bounty as us. Man! It seems like half the galaxy is tracking her," horned guy jested. Their playful mood didn't last long though. The alien woman saw me first, followed by her two companions. I'd never seen the look on anyone's faces change so fast…. They all predominately frowned, and the bald man was now pointing one of his chest guns at Toro. "Get your hands off my target!" He screamed.

Toro literally threw me away from him, sending me toppling to the floor of the ship. My head shot up, my hair going everywhere around me. Kuiil glanced down at me terrified. "Run, Saoirse!" He cried. I didn't have to be told twice. Without looking back, I made a beeline for the shop. Gun shots, yelling, and bumping could already be heard all around the yard. Once inside, I hid behind a wall, pressing my back up against it. My breathing was heavy and whole body was sweaty. After a few very deep breaths, I peered round to the side reluctant to move. You could still hear plenty of fighting going on outside. "Don't kill her! Ran wants her alive!" The horned guy barked. Ran? Who's Ran? Oh, who cares; he's likely the one who sent them after me. But they were close enough for me to hear what they were saying clearly. Time to hide better!

I had just turned to my other side when I came face-to-face with Toro. Toro! How the hell did he sneak past all that? He flashed me one of those classic dicky smirks. My eyes widened as he reached down to take hold of my wrist- tightly. He leaned his head in a bit. "You- you're coming with me."


	26. Force-Healing In a Tavern

Toro practically dragged me outside; his hand covering my mouth the whole time. He made me sit down onto the now one bike that was out there. Then he covered my face with a cloth and tied my arms around his waist. Once we were both secure like that, he covered his own face and put his goggles on. Before I knew what was happening, the bike took off at full speed.

We rode for I don't know how long, but it was a loooooong time. It was still nighttime once we finally came to a stop. Toro unbound my arms around his waist and pulled the cloth down off my mouth. He got off the bike, still clutching me by the forearm. "Nothing personal, sweetheart. You're just the perfect bait for Mando. He'll come when he knows I got you for sure." Oh, I see; he's not after my bounty but Mando… for some reason. Wait! Why would he want Mando? Don't tell me there's a bounty on his head now too. Oh joy! As if life wasn't already hard enough.

I winced as Toro lifted me using only one hand. Man, for a skinny-looking guy, he was strong! That's when I got my first good look where we were. Fantastic- desert in every direction. Nothing but endless sand as far as the eye could see. Amongst the sand was this little yet noisy shack, which I'm guessing was an inn or tavern of some sort. My new abductor hauled me into this rickety hovel by the arm. The closer we got, the nosier it became; sounded like a bunch of rough, burly men inside. Before we went in Toro leaned his mouth close to my ear. "Now if anyone asks, you're my wife." Oh, the disgusted glare I shot him. And he! He had the gull to appear surprised by my repulsed reaction. "What? You're already married; just pretend I'm your husband." My husband, ha! Like I'd ever marry a jerk like him.

Through the threshold we marched, Toro keeping his arm unpleasantly around my waist the entire way. I was right; this was a tavern chalked full of these tough, buff, scarred brutes. Not a woman in sight. Greeeeeeeeeat, cause I'll get out of this unscathed- insert eyeroll here. It was so painful being the only female in the vicinity. Some might like the attention it would bring, but I was supremely uncomfortable by all the eyes suddenly lingering on me. It's agonizingly clear that this was a hunter or warrior hang out; not anywhere healers like me would choose to spend their time. Toro must have known how much I hated the situation, but he made me come inside- the dick.

Still feeling a ton of confused gazes eying me, Toro pulled me over to a free, two-chair table at the side of the wall. He slid out a chair and glared at me. "Sit," he ordered in a hushed tone. I begrudgingly did as I was told, and he sat down opposite me. Pretty soon a male server wearing armour approached our table. "What can I get you?" He asked both of us. "Some food and a drink for her," Toro motioned to me with his fore and middle finger. The server nodded before taking off. I gave him an obviously puzzled expression and he smirked. "Can't have you starve on me." What an excuse. At least Mando cared for my welfare; not about what someone might do to him if I came to any harm. This coward.

Everyone in the room instantly turned around when the main door burst open. In came three men- two men carrying an injured fellow. His leg had this nasty cut on it and was bleeding profusely. The poor, wounded man was crying out in pain. "Outta the way! Outta the way! Make room!" One of his carriers shouted. "Nugh, it hurts! It hurts!" The man kept yelling. "Put him here!" The server, who I presumed owned this bar, patted a free stool. Everyone watched as he was transferred over, carefully set down in an upright position. That's when people started to gather around the fellow.

"What happened?" One patron asked his friend. "Jawas," he replied. Jawas? What's a Jawa? Everyone else seemed to understand though, judging by the way they bobbed their heads up and down. "We need to do something about this leg." "It's been bleeding for over an hour now." "Please! Give me something for the pain!" The injured man begged. The inside of my chest coiled again. He's in pain; he's suffering…. My hand rose up to my heart unconsciously. I have to do something…. I have to help him.

The server knelt down to get a better look at the sore; he inspected it carefully. "The bone's shattered. It's not gonna heal on its own. It's going to have to come off." "No! No, don't saw off my leg! Don't take it off!" The poor, desperate man shrieked in a voice I'd never heard from anyone before. "Sorry, but there's no other way; it'll go gangrene if we don't. Where's my bone saw?" "No! No! You can't do it! I won't let you do it to me!" "Hold him down!" The server directed his friends. Ok, this was getting sick. It was then that I stepped forward, much to the shock of everyone present.

My hand rose up a bit in front of me so to grab the server's attention. "Uh, excuse me. Can I help?" "You? Help?" The server gasped like this was an extraordinary request. "Please, please let me heal him. You don't cut his leg off; I can do it." Stunned silence soon turned to uncontrollable bouts of laughter. My cheeks sizzled red, but I stood my ground. "She thinks she can do it," one uttered while gasping for air, he was laughing so hard. "Well hear her talk," another chortled. The only ones who weren't laughing hysterically were the server and the wounded man.

The server narrowed his eyes onto me suspiciously. "Who are you?" "Uh, she's my wife!" Toro cut in before I had a chance to say a word. "Well, keep your wife under control and out of our way. Can't you hear him crying?" The server fired back to Toro while pointing back to injured man. Toro reached his hand out to snatch my arm, but I glared at the server, very much angered now.

"Let me heal him. I promise I can do it; I don't need payment or anything. Just let me help him," even I was surprised by the severity and sincerity in my own voice. This certainly succeeded in silencing the tavern again. Several men glanced at each other with conflicted and confused faces. It was the wounded man to break the quiet a few seconds later. "Let her! Let her help me! Don't saw off my leg! Leg the woman help!" I think that's when the server had had enough. He gave me such an intimidating look, I actually felt a little frightened just then. "Listen here, little girl. This isn't the time for you to be playing nurse. He needs real help now." "Ah, let her try. What's the worst that could happen?" one of the man's friends piped in. His other friend simply nodded and motioned me forward. All eyes were on me as I approached him.

I got to my knees and as gently and tenderly as humanly possible, I placed my hand over top his bleeding skin; the blood squished between my fingers. Shutting my eyes, I concentrated as hard as I could, simply motivated by the fact that I didn't want him to lose his leg. Concentrate, concentrate….. You can heal him; concentrate, I kept repeating to myself. Though I didn't see it, I knew it was working. I was officially Force-healing his deep cut. I could tell by the disappearing blood against the bottom of my hand and the astonished gasps all around me. It took about a minute and a half in total, but by the time I was done, his leg felt completely dry. My eyes fluttered open to see a natural, normal-looking, hairy male leg in front of me. A relieved smile crept across my face. He's ok… He's going to be ok.

"She did it…. She actually did it….." One man quietly exclaimed to himself. "I'll be….." "Incredible…." "I'd never seen anything like it." "How'd you do that?" But it was the now healed guy who put his hand on my shoulder. I glanced up to find him beaming down at me with such gratitude and kindness. "I have no idea how you did that but thank you. Thank you so much…." He then held out his hand for mine and helped me to my feet. I grinned back at him in a warm fashion; his hand gave mine a squeeze. Another man gave Toro a shove to the back of his shoulder.

"Your wife is something else. You sure are a lucky man." "Yeah! You'll never die of an injury if you're her husband," a second man added. A lightbulb suddenly flicked on in my brain. Hey, yeah! They don't know Toro lied to them, and if I spilled the beans now at least I'd have one ally on my side. The guy I just helped was a lot bigger and looked a lot stronger than Toro. If anything, they could help me get away from him. Formulating a rapid plan in my head, I shot Toro a vicious, accusing glare while still holding onto the man's hand. "He's not my husband! He took me away from my real hus-….. partner!" Whoa, I almost called Mando my "husband" there just now. Almost…..

I wish I could have captured the monstrous glowers all patrons were giving Toro now on hologram. He squirmed clearly afraid as all male eyes burned a searing hole through him. "What?" The healed man growled in a very threatening tone. "Are you sayin' you kidnapped her?" "An innocent woman?" "That doesn't sit well around here, boy," I had to stifle a smirk when one man loudly cracked his knuckles. "I-I can explain!" Toro's hands shot up in front of him so fast. "You took her away from her family?" The man currently holding my hand let go so to stomp over to Toro; he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "N-No! I didn't, I swear!" Toro sounded utterly pathetic right now. I folded my arms but was ready to intervene if things got too escalated. "If it's one thing I can't stand, it's a human trafficker," he hissed enraged. "I-I'm not! I was going to return her! Please! You gotta believe me!"

"Take him out back!" "Yeah! Show 'em how we handle kidnappers around these parts!" Lots of people started hollering. "Please! Hear me out!" Toro kept looking around frantically; his hands grasped at the one holding him up. "If you ever so much as look at her again, I'll….." The healed man began to threaten. Ok, that's enough. With a sigh, I uncrossed my arms and stepped forward a few strides. "Don't hurt him." "You don't have to watch," the man's friend reassured me. Yeah, as if that's any reassurance. I shook my head. "Please don't hurt him. I'm alright; I'm ok now. Just…. keep him away from me," I pleaded. "No need to worry about that," the healed man set him down into a chair, still glaring at him irately. He then came over to stand beside me. "Alright, listen up! This woman is now under my protection! You mess with her, you mess with me!" Our eyes met as he turned his head to face me once more. "I won't let anything happen to you, miss. And if you want, I'll even escort you home."

Home? My eyes and heart lit up. Did he say "home"? That's wonderful! I won't have to worry about being abducted again. Only…. My lips parted a sliver as I drew in a silent breath. Which "home" should I choose? I was suddenly and unexpectedly presented with an opportunity to grab my freedom again, to go home… my real home. But…. it wasn't my only home now; I had two homes at the moment. The question is which should I choose? Which is right to choose?


	27. Saoirse's Heart and Mando's Call

"I can give your husband a call, just to let him know you're alright and on your way back," one man offered me. I hesitated, much to the surprise of all the patrons and the server. Heh, ironic: how did a nobody female precipitously become the most popular entity in the tavern. But since I fixed that guy's leg, everyone had been keenly interested in me and willing to help me. They all looked as if they wanted an explanation to my hesitating to call Mando so soon.

Seeing their perplexed expressions, I saw down on a chair in the middle of the room and let out a sigh; my hands grabbed my right knee thoughtfully. "Well, he's not…. he's not really my husband," I clarified. "What do you mean? You just traveling with him or something?" One of the man's friends asked me. "Sort of. It's…. complicated." "Why wouldn't he want to hear from you? Aren't you friends at least?" Another man inquired. "Won't he be worried about you right now?" A third added. "I'm sure he is, only…. I…. I want to call him; I want to see him again, but…. I don't know if it's right," I finally admitted.

This apparently muddled them even more; they blinked to each other bewildered. "What do you mean "right"?" "What's not right about calling your friend? If he's concerned about you…." Hmmmmm, how to explain it? I pondered for a minute, raising my finger up to my cheek. Then I got an idea. They're men; maybe they can help me figure out what to do.

"Hmmm, tell me something. Imagine you're traveling with a partner… a woman, and it's not easy. You have to make all the money and provide everything for her because she can't work. You're not married but you seem to get along well…. But it's hard; it hasn't been an easy time for either of you. Would you…. Do you think it would be the kind thing to do if the woman was to suddenly go back home and leave you alone? She doesn't want to be an unnecessary burden on you. She sees how hard to try for both of you, and she doesn't want to stick around if it would be easier on you if she left…. She cares about you too much for that. She cares about you….."

Silence. Silence, silence, and even more silence. I could detect they were all considering this diligently by the way the lines on their foreheads wrinkled. Eventually, the healed man gazed back at me contemplatively. "This man… this "partner" of yours, you love him?" "Huh?" This definitely caught my full, undivided attention. Our stares met; his sharpening onto mine. "Do you love him?" "I….." I started but couldn't finish. Do I love Mando? But, no… I… I don't love Mando, do I? Do I? No, that's…. that's impossible, isn't it? If I loved Mando, it'd be…. If that was the case then… before I knew it, I'd grown to love him so much.

The healed man didn't wait for me to answer, instead leaning back a bit. "That's why you're reluctant to call him, isn't it? You want to give him a way out if it'll make his life easier," he folded his arms. "Did he ever say it would be easier without you around?" The server queried. "Well, no but…." "How do you know he doesn't want you around?" "Hey, yeah. Did you ever think it's easier for him to be with you than without you?" "That's not true," I instantly retorted. "How do you know?" He countered. "Because he told me we're running low on money and he's struggling to pay for himself, never mind me tacked on," plus there's Kuiil now too; who, I might add, is only there to guard me while the Mandalorian's away.

The healed man waved his hand in the air casually. "Ah, he won't care about that; not if he wants you around." "But he's never said he wants me around," I countered, raising my hand up to my chest. "Oh, come on; are you blind? You're the only thing Mando gives a damn about- it's so obvious," Toro rolled his eyes; it was his first time adding to the conversation. "It is?" I blinked to him surprised. I didn't know that…

A familiar hand planted itself onto my shoulder and I gazed back at healed man; he flashed me a brilliant smile. "You're willing to leave the man you love in order to make his life easier?" "Well, yes. I want to give him the chance to get back to his normal life….. if that's what he wants," my eyes lowered a bit in a sad manner. "And what about you? What do you want?" "It doesn't matter what I want. I want what's best for Mando….." I answered without thinking; I didn't have to think about it. That's what I wanted; I already knew… Too bad he didn't seem satisfied with this, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "I asked you what you want. Do you want to go back to your home planet alone, because I can bring you there. But what do you really want, truly?" "Truly?" I bit my bottom lip for a second before taking in a deep breath. My lips parted dramatically.

"I know I shouldn't get too attached to Mando; I know it's foolish since we'll have to say goodbye one day anyway. But… I can't help it. I wanna see him; I can't deny it. I want to see him, even if it's just once more. It's bizarre- we barely know each other, and he's already brought me so much happiness. Regardless of what happens going forward, I'm so thankful I got to meet him, to be part of his life for this short time…." I see… it's starting to get clearer now. My eyes slowly began to widen. Somehow without my ever noticing it, it felt so natural… having the Mandalorian near.

Stunned quiet once again. The server tilted his head a bit. "His name is Mando, you said?" I looked in his direction and nodded. He grinned and picked up this small, long gadget. Meanwhile the others kept staring at me in awe. Grins began to circle the room one-by-one. "You really care about this man? Mando?" The healed man asked me in a sincere tone. Again, I nodded. He straightened up and grinned knowingly at the others. "You have a lot to learn about men, girly." "Huh?" I tilted my head puzzled by this statement. That's when a beeping could be heard from the device in the server's hand. It sounded like it was ringing, only to be answered seconds later.

"Hello, is this Mando? We have something of yours; you can pick her up any time," the server was smiling at me the whole time he spoke. My eyes grew in shock as I realized he was communicating with the Mandalorian. "Wait! I said only if he wants to! He doesn't have to come get me if he doesn't want to! It's up to him!" I shouted, rolling one hand desperately into a ball. This only made the server's grin widen in the corners. "You hear that? Come only if you want to, Mando. Don't worry, we'll keep her safe here; she'll be here if you come and we'll fly her home if you don't. Either way, it's your call."


	28. Mando's Choice

"And that's when he got me in the leg," healed man was relaying the tale of how he got wounded. I scratched my head a bit puzzled. "What's a jawa?" I asked. "Oh, they're uh…" Before he could answer, the ground began to rubble; the cups and cutlery on the tables shook. All of us perked up as it dawned on me: he's here. Our ship had just landed outside, sending sand flying everywhere. Everyone looked at me and I couldn't help but blush.

I opened the door at the same time the ship door dropped down. All the patrons followed in tow, with one of the healed guy's friends dragging the terrified Toro by the arm. Boy, did he look scared. Mando marched off the ship with Kuiil right behind him. They both scanned around before seeing me. A smile beamed across my face at the sight of them. "Saoirse!" Kuiil exhaled in relief. As they both walked forward, I ran towards them with my arms wide open. Kuiil caught me in an embrace; we both shut our eyes as we held each other. Mando watched us silently, though I could tell he was relieved by his body language. I then straightened up, looking at him. My grin began to fade as my lips parted a sliver. Mando…. He's here; he's right here. He really came for me.

"H-hey, Mando. I….." Toro stupidly and quite nervously began- but only had the chance to begin. Without warning, the Mandalorian angrily yanked out his blaster and aimed it at Toro's chest. Toro's hands immediately flew up into the air and I rushed in the line of fire rapidly. "No! No, no, no; I'm ok! Don't shoot him! He didn't hurt me!"

"This is Mando?" The server now pointed to the Mandalorian, who reluctantly lowered his gun while still glaring dangerously at Toro. "You didn't say he was a Mandalorian," healed man inquired in a surprisingly suspicious tone. "Is that a problem?" I blinked back at the tavern patrons, genuinely confused. "How did you get mixed up with a Mandalorian?" If I didn't know any better, I'd say the healed man's friend sounded a tad worried. "I-I don't understand. What's wrong with him being a Mandalorian?" My hand rose up to my chest. "You're not a Mandalorian," the server stated flatly while looking at me. "Well, that doesn't matter," I shrugged. Mandalorians could marry non-Mandalorians, after all. The men, however, did not act convinced.

"Did you call me?" Mando interrupted the tenseness, asking the server; I guess he recognized the sound of his voice. "Yes," he didn't hesitate to answer. "Thank you," Kuiil spoke for both him and Mando; Mando's head nodded in a respectful, solemn manner. "Yes, thank you…." I flinched as he suddenly and quite unexpectedly reached over to take hold of my hand; his gloved handheld onto mine tightly. "Come on," he said before proceeding to guide me back onto the ship. "Thanks again for calling us and taking care of our girl. We were worried out of our minds," Kuiil sighed. They were? I blinked to the back of Mando, who was still tugging me along. Mando was worried about me? My cheeks kept blushing a beet red.

"Look after Saoirse; she's a special woman." "Yeah. You hear that, Mandalorian? I wouldn't let anything happen to her if I were you." "We'll do our best," Kuiil attempted to ease their concerns. "I mean it. She healed me; never met a girl like her before," healed man explained. "Healed you? She healed an injury?" Kuiil sounded startled and alarmed by this. Healed man nodded. "My leg; it would have had to come off if it wasn't for her," he elucidated while patting his knee. Kuiil just spun around to peer at me through the corner of his eye; it was clear he was thinking… thinking and not smiling.

"Let's go," Mando called out to Kuiil. He thanked the men again for protecting me and getting me away from Toro. I waved at all of them before we all boarded the ship together. Mando shut the ship door; all the while not letting go of my hand. I kept staring at him intently, elated and astonished that he came for me. He had the chance to escape me, to return to his old life, and yet…. judging by the time he got here, he didn't wait to come get me. He must have come as soon as he knew where I was. Realizing this, letting it resonate in me, my hand gave his a comfortable squeeze. Another organic smile drew across my lips as my eyes lowered gently onto his helmet. Mando paused and turned his head back to me when I didn't move another step forward, instead electing to adoringly stare at him.

"Everything ok?" He asked me; his voice peppered with concern. "Yes… yes, everything's fine," my hand kept holding onto his. Mando's head tilted downwards a bit. Then he continued to pull me into the driving station. It's there that our hands finally parted, but I noticed how close Mando brought me to stand by him as he sat in the captain's chair. Kuiil must have also saw but decided not to say anything; he stood close by behind us. That's when I glanced to the dashboard and realized that my dried, pink flower was nowhere to be found. After scanning around, it hit me…. the last place I saw it was when I gave it to Mando. He put it behind his breast plate… right overtop his heart. My eyes widened as it hit me…. It's not in its normal spot; he must still have it…. it must still resting on top of his heart. My lips parted in the most natural, most enchanted way….

Yes, Mando is a Mandalorian, and they are an elite class of highly skilled warriors. He's a trained fighter who doesn't talk much and pulls his gun out way too fast in my opinion. But… despite all that, he has a soft side to him; a real soft side. He hides it well, but those who know him well know it's there. Maybe I'm the only one who knows it's there, but I know…. He didn't hesitate to pick me up, even when he didn't have to. He didn't wait…. Yes, I know it's there- I don't even have to think about it.


	29. The Offer

I went to bed for some much-needed sleep; it had been an eventful day to say the least. Despite of my tossing and turning, I just couldn't get to sleep. It didn't help either that I could hear the Mandalorian and Kuiil talk quietly, but not too quietly, from the front deck. I mean, come on; it was late. Didn't either of them need some rest? Kuiil said something in a hushed tone and I sighed. Guess not.

What are they talking about anyway? The fact that they're keeping their voices down can't be good. They're either discussing me or trying to keep quiet so I could get some sleep. Trying, and failing. I heard the sound of a button click, followed by a much louder yet familiar voice. "My friend," he began. Wait, my eyes narrowed considerably. I know that voice….. that's uh, the guy from before; the one who shot at us and demanded that I come with him. The one who came onto our ship without permission. Why's he calling Mando? He was trying to kill him the last time we saw him.

The hologram went on. "If you're receiving this transmission, that means you are alive." What? He thought Mando would be dead? Why? "You might be surprised to hear this, but I am alive too." Why would that be a surprise? Did he piss someone off or something? Well, somebody besides the Mandalorian. "I guess we can call it even." Uh, no; we can't. You tried to kill Mando and me. Not to mention all the individuals who died under his employment back on the planet- I don't know its name.

"A lot has happened since we last saw each other. The man who hired you is still here." Which man? Dr. Pershing or the old guy? "And his ranks of ex-Imperial guards have grown." What does he mean by "ex-Imperial"? I thought it was the Imperials who wanted me. "They have imposed despotic rule over my city which has impeded the livelihood of the guild. We consider him an enemy, but we cannot get close enough to take him out. If you would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while." So, he wants to hire Mando to take out this guy- the despotic ruler? Uh, ok; one question. How's Mando supposed to get close enough to kill him either? If that's a problem for all those guild guys, I can't see why it wouldn't be any different for my protector.

"You have been successful so far in staving off their hunters, but they will not stop until they have their prize." Wait, prize? My hands rolled into unconscious fists…. Oh, that's why they put the city on lockdown; they're searching for me. Uh oh- I can see where this is going. "So here is my proposition. Return to Nevarro; bring the girl as bait. I will arrange an exchange and provide loyal guild members as protection." Protection, ha! Protection indeed; those same guys tried to slaughter us a while back. I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, and I'm pretty weak.

"Once we get near the Client, you kill him, and we both get what we want. If you succeed, you keep the girl and I will have your name cleared with the guild. For a man of honour should not be forced to live in exile. I await your arrival with optimism."

There was a brief, tense silence. I heard a flip switch then the sound of Kuiil's low voice. "What are you going to do, Mando?" A lull in the room. "Is she asleep?" Mando asked Kuiil. I quickly pulled up the covers and shut my eyes at Kuiil's footsteps approaching my tiny bedroom. He checked to find me pretending to be asleep, and he bought it. "She is," Kuiil told the Mandalorian in a whisper.

More silence. "He has a point. They won't stop until Saoirse's dead or in their possession. You can't keep running forever; sooner or later, they'll get her and likely kill you in the process," Kuiil could be heard walking back over to Mando's chair. He took his time responding; verbally at least. "Yes….." Was all he managed to say. Classic Mando. "That said, it's risky. Can you trust him?" Kuiil questioned. "Not enough to use Saoirse as bait," the Mandalorian replied. Kuiil thought for a moment. "What if we had backup of our own?" "I'm not bringing her anywhere near him," Mando shot him down.

"Hear me out. He'll have guild members of his own, but is there anyone we can bring? Some extra protection on our side?" "I don't trust anyone with this." "We may not have a choice, Mando. I understand you want to protect Saoirse; so do I. But if he's willing to help us take down the Client, I say we should at least consider it. When will you have another opportunity like this again?" Quiet on Mando's part. Kuiil saw fit to continue. "If you know someone who can help us. Someone who knows Saoirse and will be willing to watch out for her. That can be our extra insurance."

Yet another moment of silence- this was like the millionth that night. "I know someone," the Mandalorian finally confessed. Kuiil let out an audible sigh in relief. "Good. And this has given me an idea too."


	30. The Return of Carl

We dropped Kuiil off at his shop on Takodana before heading back out; he said he had some business to take care off. Even though I listened in on last night's conversation, I pretended to be ignorant this morning. Mando didn't tell me where we were going but I had an idea. Kuiil said they needed someone they could trust; someone who already knew me. And I can only think of one man who fit that description.

The ship landed on an unknown planet to me. Mando brought me off deck this time to a place which had a familiar setting. Great- another tavern. Why am I spending a lot of time in bars lately? I don't even drink. The Mandalorian opened the door to reveal a fist fight occurring in the centre of the room. Scores of people were cheering and shouting. My eyes grew huge when I realized that one of the contenders was Carl Dune. He and the man- this big, burly guy with horns- had this red taser connecting them in front of their waists.

I probably wasn't supposed to intervene, but I was just so appalled by their behaviour right now. "Carl!" I shouted, clearly upset. Both his and his opponent's head shot over our way. "Saoirse?!" Carl had just enough time to gasp; his adversary took the opportunity to round house Carl in the side. I had to shut my eyes as Carl spun around to knock him square in the face a couple of times. The taser rope only disappeared once he literally choked the horned guy with it. I was not amused.

Once the rope severed, Carl rushed over to Mando and I. "You guys!" My eyes widened as Carl suddenly and unpredictably pulled me in for a hug. His sweaty arms wrapped around my shoulders for a second. I was so stunned that I couldn't embrace him back. This was the first time a man has ever hugged me like that before. And it was quite obvious that Mando was also not impressed by this, following the motions of Carl's head with his helmet. "What are you doing here?" Carl finally let me go, grinning at both of us. "Looking for some work?" Mando asked him.

The three of us sat down at a corner table; me planted right in the middle of them just like before. I poured Carl and myself some cups of this weird, glowing blue liquid while Mando explained the plans. "It seems like a straightforward operation. They're providing the plan and firepower; I'm the snare." Now it was Carl's turn to wear an unimpressed expression. "Mando, this is Saoirse we're talking about," he uttered in a very serious voice. "That's why I'm coming to you," Mando retorted. Carl sat back in his chair; he glanced from me back to the Mandalorian in a thoughtful yet irritated manner.

"It's not a good idea," Carl shook his head after a minute or two. "I'll be there," Mando rebuffed. "Look, even if I did think this could work, I've been advised to lay low. If anybody runs my chain code, I'll rot in a cell for the rest of my life." "I thought you were a veteran." "I've been a lot of things since- most of them carry a life sentence. If I so much as book passage on a ship registered to the new republic, I'll…." Carl gazed down. "I have a ship." "I know you have a ship, but that's not the point." "I can bring you there and back with a handsome reward. You can live free of worry." "Mando, look at her! I won't be worry-free if anything happens on this mission where she's dangled in front of the Client on a string. They could seriously harm Saoirse, or worse. She shouldn't be anywhere near them."

Oh lovely; they're talking about me like I'm not here again. I might as well go on a pleasant stroll outside. Heh, but they might ironically miss me when I'm not here. And I should point out that no one's asked what I think of this whole scenario yet. Hey, wait; that's true. They don't know how I feel…..

"Actually, I don't mind…." I surprisingly heard the sound of my voice cut in. Both their heads spun to face me alarmed, but I simply gave a shrug in response. "I don't mind being used as bait. So long as you don't kill him in front of me. In fact, is there a way you can do this without killing him?" Neither man spoke for a second, then Carl turned to face Mando. "This isn't gonna work." "They won't stop coming. You saw what happened on Sorgan. She'll never be safe until the imp is dead, and this may be our only chance." Oh, sure; just keep talking like I hadn't said anything. I sat back in my chair while sipping on my drink and staring off into space. It's like they didn't hear me at all.

Carl frowned. "Forget it. I'm not in the mood to play soldier, especially fighting some local warlord." "He's not a local warlord- he's Imperial." Well, this titbit of information shut Carl up pretty fast. His tongue rolled over his teeth in a thoughtful manner, and then he peered my way. Our eyes locked for a minute; Carl's mouth morph into a thin, flat line.

"This is going to be dangerous, Saoirse. You're going to have to do exactly what we tell you." "Don't I already?" I blinked perplexed. A grin grew across his lips a moment later. His head spun to see the Mandalorian straight on. "Alright, I'm in on two conditions. One, we get more backup. And two, I get to kill this escort guy if he double-crosses us." "Deal," Mando nodded. Carl leaned back in his chair once more.

"Speaking of our escort, does your contact need to vet me?" "He doesn't know you're coming." "Really? That could be a problem." "It won't. But if it is, that's his problem." Carl then looked back at me. "You trust the contact?" "Not particularly." "He's caused us some trouble before," I took a sip of my water. Carl rolled his eyes back to the Mandalorian apprehensively. "I will kill him if he tries anything. I'm not taking any chances," he stated, clearly forgetting my stance on killing and violence in general. But Mando seemed to understand where he was coming from; at least one of us did. Carl took his last gulp of his water and wiped his mouth. "So, who's the backup?"

And back to Takodana we flew. We landed right when Kuiil was tending to these weird, domestic, riding creatures. He greeted us and brought us into his home. "This is Carl Dune; he was a shock trooper," the Mandalorian introduced the pair. Neither man looked particularly impressed. "You were a Dropper?" Kuiil pointed to the tattoos on Carl's arm. Carl glanced down at them puzzled and back up at Kuiil. "Did you serve?" He asked. "On the other side, I'm afraid. But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt, and now I serve no one but myself," Kuiil sat down with us. Kuiil… My eyes lowered onto him softly. Sounds like he's had a hard life; poor guy. He's so kind, he didn't deserve that.

Literally right after I thought that, a robot stepped into the room with a tray in its hands. Mando immediately stood up, aiming his blaster right at it ready to shoot. Carl followed suit, both men positioned protectively beside me. "Would anyone care for some tea?" It asked in its robotic voice. Hold on, my eyes narrowed closely onto it. Haven't I seen this droid somewhere before? That voice is ringing a bell in my head. _"The commission was quite specific. The asset was to be terminated." _Oh, wait….. Oh no.

"Please, lower your blasters. He will not harm you," Kuiil lifted up his hand pleadingly. "That thing is programmed to kill Saoirse," the Mandalorian didn't move his gun or his glare. "Not anymore. I said we needed some extra insurance and here it is," the engineer defended. The bot placed the tray down and poured some…. uh, interesting looking tea. Mando did not look convinced; not at all. "Is it still a hunter?" He grilled, making sure to stand in front of me now. "No, but it will protect." The robot then held a cup up. "Tea?" Mando sighed, frustrated.

"No," the Mandalorian went on to state with finality. "I've reprogrammed it to be Saoirse's protector," Kuiil just kept on pushing. "I don't want that droid anywhere near her." "Why are you so distrustful of droids?" "It tried to kill her," Mando said seriously. Hey, yeah; I remember that. "It was programmed to do so. Droids are not good or bad; they are neutral reflections of those who imprint them." By now Carl and I were watching the robot; I noticed Carl's arm unthinkingly and quite defensively slip over my shoulder. While I was looking at his arm now, he was observing the droid suspiciously. Even Mando was still reluctant to accept it. "I've seen otherwise," Mando said. "Do you trust me?" Kuiil asked him. "From what I can tell, yes." "Then you will trust my work. IG-11 will join me. Remember, Mando; we're not doing this for payment, but to protect Saoirse from Imperial slavery. None will be free until the old ways are gone, forever."

After a long, loooooong minute, the Mandalorian finally relented. His head moved up as if he was rolling his eyes. "Ok." "And the blurrgs will join me as well." "The blurrgs?" Mando countered. "I have spoken," Kuiil stood up. I leaned in towards Carl so to whisper: "what's a blurrg?"


	31. Master Yoda's Gift

I watched for a while as Mando and Carl passed the time by arm wrestling. "I got you, Mando." "Care to double the bet?" Oh, boy; this was getting ridiculous. With a roll of the eyes, I climbed up to the top deck were Kuiil was taking his turn manning the controls. I grinned at him as I approached the dashboard.

"Quiet night, huh?" My arms folded so I could lean on the board. "Yes," he agreed before gazing over at me. "Now that we're alone, I wanted to ask you something, Saoirse." "What is it?" "That man, he said you healed him back on Tatooine, correct?" My grin began to fade as my head bobbed up and down slowly. "You healed him using your power?" "M-my power?" I wasn't sure if I should tell him about the Force or not. I know I wasn't supposed to tell Mando but Kuiil seemed to know more than he let on. My lips parted a bit, sucking in a deep, steading breath.

"Hmmmmm, I see. What Mando told me about the Mudhorn makes more sense now." "The Mudhorn? Oh! You mean that animal back on Takodana; the one who hurt Mando," my fingers snapped together. "You stopped him. It was with the same power, wasn't it?" Kuiil asked me directly. I hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded my head. He too nodded his head in turn.

"Yes, it all makes sense now- why the Imperials are searching for you so badly." "Why? I don't understand; why do they want me?" I pressed, now hopeful for some answers finally. "You are of use to them. You have the same blood as their late emperors." "I-I….. don't know what you mean. I'm descendent from the Jinn clan. We're not royalty at all," my hand rose up to press against my chest. "Not that kind of blood….." Our eyes met sincerely; his sharpened into mine. "Do you know what I mean, child?"

After staring at him for a second, my eyes lowered a bit. Then I nodded my head ever so slightly. His face lit up, though he did a very good job hiding his sudden enthusiasm. "Show me," he directed, much like Dr. Pershing that day. My hand stuck out and I concentrated on a small metal ball. Seconds later it floated over to me, landing in my palm. I had to suck in a few deep breaths, feeling a tiny bit tired all of a sudden. And I looked at the marvelled Kuiil; man, were his eyes huge.

"So it's true? I've heard rumours of your kind while enslaved in the Empire." "No one else knows; I'm not supposed to tell…." Well, the Mandalorian anyway. "So, Mando doesn't know then?" My head shook. "Hmmmm, good. It's better he does not," Kuiil sat back in his chair, folding his hands over his stomach. "But why?" I had had enough of all these secrets. Why couldn't Mando know about the Force or my Force-sensitivity? I didn't get why I had to keep it from him…

"Your power is very special, and rare. The fewer who know about it, the better." "But it's Mando. I can trust him." "You may trust him, but he's a Mandalorian. You must believe me on this: Mandalorians do not take well to your kind," his hand stretched over to rest on my arm. "What?" I blinked astonished. But before either of us could say more, a very startling entity appeared from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder only for my eyes to widen.

"Master!" I practically leapt up. The look on Kuiil's face when he saw Master Yoda's ghost in the room with us was priceless. His eyes were as big as dinner plates and his jaw dropped to the floor. "I-Incredible!" He gasped breathlessly. "Good to see you again, my child," Master greeted me; both his hands were on his temperament walking staff. "This Jedi is your master?" Kuiil blinked to me, still speechless. "Yes. He raised me; him and the others." "Others?!"

That's when I turned back to address my master; he was watching me with those soft, soulful eyes of his. "Master, what's wrong? Why did you come and show…. yourself?" I got nervous at the end of my question. It's Master Yoda- the smartest being in the galaxy. If he's here and incidentally revealed himself to Kuiil, it must be for a reason. "Why must something be wrong for me to visit my pupil?" Of course he was going to say something like that. "N-no, never mind; I'm sorry. I'm happy to see you, Master," with a hand on my forehead I grinned.

"Are you the ones who taught Saoirse Force-healing?" Kuiil mustered up the nerve to ask Yoda. He hummed and nodded. "It was the will of the Force." "Master Yoda taught me all about the Force," I added. "Yes, and an excellent student she is. She uses the Force for good, keeping her vow of peace and nonviolence." "Master, the Imperials are still after me. We're going to try and stop them, but… is there anything I can do to prevent any death? I don't want anyone to die, but I don't want to keep running my whole life either. Isn't there something I can do? Something diplomatic?"

Master Yoda eyed me, then he lowered his head a smidge. "It is as I have always said. Listen to the Force; it will guide you, if you only let it." "But Master, I still don't know how to listen to the Force. I don't know what I'm doing," my hands flew out at my sides. His eyes narrowed onto me intently. "Much to learn, you still have."

Yoda's Force essence came forward, flowing through me all of a sudden. I paused stunned, and when I looked down, there was this weird short bar thing in my hand. Kuiil also leaned in to see it. The stick was… odd. Divided into three parts essentially in a row: the first row had these black handles spaced out on it; the second was an all black rim; and the third was solid grey with a nuke poking out of it. There was this weird notch at the top. Curious and confused why Master would give this thing to me, I kept inspecting it, hoping- in vain- for some answer as to what it might be.

"What is it?" I eventually asked Kuiil. He shrugged. "Don't know." "Huh," I lifted it closer to my eyes. How strange; why would Master Yoda give me this small, short stick? Was it a healing tool? A weapon? A flashlight? Who knew. That's when it dawned on me that the little notch might be a button of sorts; it wasn't exactly clear. Kuiil merely observed as I pressed it- nothing happened. I looked at him and he rubbed his finger ponderingly under his chin.

"Use the Force," he suggested to me. "What?" "The Force. Use the Force when you hold it." I didn't see what good that would do but seeing as I was out of ideas…. I concentrated this time; I inhaled deeply and pressed the button again. Both Kuiil and I ogled with large eyes as a green stick-like thing shot up from the top end. It was bright- glowing I'd say- and making this buzzing noise. I'd never seen anything like it! And I had no clue what it was.

"Remarkable….." Kuiil muttered gobsmacked to himself. "Wow!" I also exclaimed in shock. Why would Master give me a glowing stick? What am I supposed to do with it? My free hand slowly began to raise up. "I wonder…." "Don't touch it!" Kuiil shouted with such command and fear that I accidently lowered the arm holding it. The moment the stick touched the switchboard, it began to laser through it. Luckily my hand released it and the green light disappeared. The ship shook a bit; I guess I hit some buttons. While Kuiil and I tried to steady ourselves, the stick fell onto the ground and rolled away. Good thing too cause Mando and Carl were up within a matter of seconds.

"Are you alright?" Carl rushed over to me while Mando went to regain control of the ship. "Y-Yes!" I managed to spit out. Kuiil and I wordlessly looked to each other, silently agreeing that it would be best if we didn't discuss this with anyone else. And thankfully, Mando didn't ask about the burn marks or minor indents on the dashboard.


	32. A Very Tense Reunion

_A dark figure…. A man wearing a mask, and a gun pointed directly at me. "Saoirse Jinn, consider this a death sentence by the order of the Imperial Empire. I don't like killing girls, but for your bounty, I'll make an exception." Fear- paralyzing fear. I'd never felt that way before…. _

My eyes shot open as I let out a scream. My upper half immediately rose up in a panic. It took me a second to realize that it was only a dream… a nightmare. The door to my compact bedroom was closed… for some reason. I opened it and listened. Quiet murmurs from the front dock. Seriously, didn't any of these men ever need any sleep. Too awake now to go back to sleep, I climbed out from my hole and approached them. A blanket was wrapped around me for extra warmth and comfort.

They all looked surprised to see me. What's more, it appeared as if I had interrupted an argument; specifically, a spat between Kuiill and Carl. "Saoirse, did we wait you up?" Carl asked me mildly concerned. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head. "Couldn't sleep," I half-lied, not in the mood to relay the details of my bad dream. Mando turned to Kuiil.

"Tell you what. I could really use your craftwork right now. Can you pad that bed so Saoirse can sleep better?" Kuill went over to peer into my little room; his eyes scanned all over it. "I shall fabricate a better one. Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skills of one's hands." Oh, shots fired! Why would he say something like that to Carl? Just what were they fighting about before I got up?

"Are you unable to sleep, Master?" We all glanced behind us to see the droid approach me. Wait, is it referring to me? Did it just call me "master"? Carl's arms stiffened and Mando also tensed. "Saoirse," the Mandalorian called me to his side. The robot obviously wasn't able to read the mood of the room, continuing to speak to me. "Shall I prepare you a warm beverage?" It inquired to me. "She's not thirsty," Mando answered for me. While Carl and I gazed over at Mando, the bot finally left us. But the Mandalorian was having none of it; his head spun so to face all of us.

"Under no circumstances does that thing leave the ship." "You got a real thing for droids, don't you?" Carl asked, though he also wasn't smiling. "I got a real thing for "that" droid," the Mandalorian fired back. "The Ugnaught said he rewired it," Carl countered his rebuttal. "That droid was designed to kill things. I don't care how much wiring he replaced; it goes against its nature." "Is that true?" I asked no one in particular. I didn't know droids worked that way; I thought they could be programmed this way and that. I was unaware that they had "natures".

Carl glanced my way then back at Mando. "Oh, it shouldn't be a long job anyway. You take out the head and the rest will run like rats." Mando… My mouth opened slightly as I stared at the back of the Mandalorian's helmet. That's when Carl looked at me again. A grin grew across his lips after a moment. It was my turn for my eyes to grow wide as a hand reached across my back; it rested on my shoulder gently. I blinked to see Carl grinning at me in this tender way. "You're tired, aren't you? You can sleep here like this, if you like….. Just until Kuiil's done with your bed," I felt the side of Carl's body press into mine. My mouth opened to politely decline but no words came out. I think I was too stunned and embarrassed at the moment. It didn't help either that Mando was watching…..

"There's a cot you can sleep on," the Mandalorian pointed off to the side were my fold-out cot was currently being stored. Carl's grin began to fade as I got up to go fetch it. "Here, I'll help," the ex-shock trooper followed me, pulling the cart out and setting it up for me. I laid down on it and smiled warmly at the two men. "Good night." "Sleep well, Saoirse," Carl sighed. Mando didn't say anything but I knew… I already knew. With one last look at them, I gently shut my eyes and drifted off into a safer, denser world. And I didn't wake up until the next morning when we landed.

To my horror, the scary man from the hologram was already there waiting for us to arrive; him and his cronies. Mando gave me my dark blue cloak to wear; with the hood up, of course. Kuiil got the three blurrgs he had brought ready and we mounted them. Mando helped me up onto it's back first, then climbed on in front of me; Carl and Kuiil were riding the other two. I blushed as the Mandalorian's helmet darted around to face me. "Hold on," he instructed. Hold on… to Mando? Like put my arms around his waist? I did as I was told, slowly wrapped both arms around his armoured exterior. My cheeks sizzled even redder when I pulled myself up into his back. Aside from the couple of times we've held each other, this was the closest we'd ever been together. I was practically hugging him from behind! Ok, that fact alone made me feel better about this whole scenario…. a bit.

My nerves completely shattered however, when I saw his face again. Him- that man who kept calling Mando; the one who tried to kill us. My arms instinctively tightened around the Mandalorian's waist. I'll admit, I was scared of him; not so much that he wanted to kill me but Mando…. Our two sides met halfway: him and his thugs walking on foot while we rode towards them. We all stopped just some feet ahead of each other.

"Sorry for the remote rendezvous, Mando, but things have gotten….. complicated since you were last here." Mando's helmet merely turned to the men accompanying the scary man; I could feel by the swell of his muscles that he was not pleased with them. I, meanwhile, tried to be as low, meek, and most of all hidden from their line of view. I sure Carl and Kuiil caught notice of this but they graciously did everything in their power not to draw attention to me.

Scary man planted his hands firmly on his hips. "It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided a security detail." No one said anything to this; the atmosphere was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. When nobody replied, scary man pointed to Carl. "I recommend the shock trooper guards the ship. These lava fields are lousy with Jawas." More of these "Jawa" creatures- I remember what they did to that guy's leg back at the tavern. I don't think I'd like to meet a Jawa anytime soon.

"He's coming with me," Mando affirmed. This didn't seem to please scary man over here. "But the town is now run by ex-Empire. If a rebel Dropper is with us, they'll all get their hackles up." "She's coming," I think the Mandalorian was losing his patience; not that I blame him. Carl simply peered to his side at Mando, then back at scary man. "Fine… fine. At least cover your tattoo; no need to flaunt it. Now, where's the girl?" Both scary man's hands flew out at his sides.

My heart skipped a beat as I held onto Mando tighter- if that were even possible. Kuiil and Carl silently glanced to Mando at the same time, then back to me. Scary man's head leaned to the left side so to spot me; his face lit up. "There you are!" I felt like I was going to cry when he came over to us. He beamed up at me with an elated expression. "So, you're what all the fuss is about?" He sized me once over and then held out his hand for me. "May I?" Scary man asked.

Everything and everyone were on pins and needles; the mood was so tense and dangerous, I hated it. I didn't do or say anything; just kept moving my frightened stare between his hand and his eyes. "Now, now; there's nothing to be afraid of," he cooed like he didn't comprehend how terrifying this was for me. Against my better judgement, I took his hand and let him help me to my feet. Ok, that's when things got real. Mando ran his hand over his blaster; Carl looked like he was about to deck scary man in the face; and one of scary man's goons gripped his spear. One wrong move and a fight would break out- we were merely a hair away.

Scary man's eyes kept scanning me up and down, getting more intense each time. "Well now, look at you. You're a lot… smaller than I remember you being," his gaze narrowed menacingly. "She's pretty," one of his cronies had the misfortunate to say. I'm pretty sure all of them wanted to kill each other in at the moment. I leaned back, pressing myself into the side of the blurrg when scary man's head moved slightly forward. Our eyes locked for a second and I swore I was seconds away from breaking out into tears. "What a precious creature you are… I can see why you didn't want to harm a hair on her lovely head, Mando."

I think that's when Mando reached his breaking point; he decided that enough was enough. I suddenly felt two arms grab me from behind and hoist me up. All present at the meeting watched as the Mandalorian lifted me back onto the blurrg safely behind him. Scary guy eyed Mando, obviously unimpressed and somewhat upset by this sudden act of mistrust. But Mando stayed firm and I wrapped my arms around his waist again. It was only like this that I felt truly secure here with all of them.

Back onto his hips scary man's hands went. The atmosphere was still suffocating, despite me being near Mando again. "Well, I'm glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all," scary man announced. No one replied yet again- I think that was common when this guy talked. "The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, then camp out on the riverbank. And we can make our way into town at first light."


	33. Healing Greef

Kuiil had the decency to distract me while the others caught and slayed some poor animal for dinner. I watched mortified as the scary man- or Greef and Karga as I heard others address him- had his goons stick the creature's corpus on a spit to put over a fire. Then they made sure everyone had something to eat after it was done cooking.

It was dark out by then; the night sky sprinkled with stars was gigantic over us and the blackness was overwhelming. We all sat in a circle around the fire with the blurrgs tied up behind us. I was positioned between Kuiil and Mando, allowing me to share a plate with Kuiil. While we busy eating, I kept feeling Greef's eyes drift onto me. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed. Carl glared at one of Greef's thugs who also had his attention my way. It was fairly uncomfortable, to say the least.

Eventually, Greef chose to break the awkward silence by raising his hand up to point straight at me- only for a second, mind you. "Quiet, isn't she? Never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a king's ransom for her. Maybe someone at the top's lookin' for a highfalutin wife," he chuckled callously. "Or an addition to the harem," one of his goons added. The other two chortled and I frowned, along with all the men accompanying me.

"Let's go over the plan again," you could hear the strain in Mando's tone; I think he wanted to get off the topic as much as I did. Greet finally, finally glanced away from me. "We both enter the common house; we show the Client the bait; we join him at the table, and you kill him," his finger motioned to the Mandalorian. "Tell me about his reinforcements," Mando refused to look at him. I saw that… I noticed. "They're all ex-Empire. Soon as they lose their paycheque, phuch- they'll all scatter." That's when Carl sent Greef a suspicious glare; he was still eating off to the side.

"And what if they don't?" Mando pressed the issue. "They will," Greef tried to reassure the Mandalorian. "That's not good enough," the Mandalorian peered at Greef for the first time that night. The scary man gazed at me, like he was figuring out where Mando was coming from and how to push his buttons. Bad move, I'd say. "If for argument's sake, a few of them don't realize that I'm their best path to alternative employment, and they elect to… react impulsively, then these fine guild hunters- along with that battle-hardened shock trooper- will cut down anyone who bucks." "How many will there be?" The Mandalorian questioned. Greef sighed, then stood up to get some more meat. "No more than four. He travels with at most a fire team. Trust me; nothing could go wrong," he said that but Mando and Kuiil didn't look so sure. Again, I don't blame them; I didn't trust him either.

Greef was about to grab some food when out of where this winged monster zoomed through the darkness. I screamed as it's shriek echoed in the air. Everyone leapt to their feet, save me; one of the thugs began shooting out into the sky. Mando, Carl, and Kuiil soon joined him, but only after Mando yanked my hood up and curled my huddled body around in the cloak like an invisibility shield.

Admittedly I didn't see much of the ensuing battle between us and the creatures- whatever they were. I assumed they must have been dangerous since men were constantly hollering and shooting in what seemed like aimless directions. "No! Let go of him! Drop him now!" I heard Kuiil's voice cry. I peeked to see one of the beasts trying to fly away with a blurrg. But my eyes didn't say open long- they instantly shot at it.

Things got quiet for a moment, but only a mere minute. Greef's shrieks could be heard from a mile away suddenly. I had to cover my ears as they tried to save him. "Drop him!" Kuiil yelled again; I guess the blurrgs were still being attacked. Mando must have used his fire at some point because I heard that too. More loud noises; more blasting. The monsters flew away in defeat eventually; I heard Mando's footsteps run back over to my side. I blinked surprised when I felt my cloak being pulled back- both Mando and Kuiil were looking at me.

After a quick check to make sure I was ok, all our attention turned to the gasping and groaning Greef. He was laying on his back with his top half elevated up; his leg had a big wound on it. Bleeding, with what looked to be claw marks running along his skin. Kuiil was the first to reach him, placing his hand on his shoulder and examining the injury. "He's hurt badly." "I'm fine; I'm fine; I'm fine," Greef hissed. He was clearly not fine. Carl came over too, where he helped Kuiil.

"Hold still; they got you good," Carl stated while giving him what appeared to be a shot. Greef grit his teeth in agony. "How bad?" Mando asked Carl. "Bad. The poison's spreading fast." Greef's men looked at each other with worried expressions. "S-so this is how it happens," Greef exclaimed bitterly. "Don't be so dramatic. I need another mud pack; got any other mud packs? Anyone?" Carl called out. "I'm guessing that's a no…"

It was around this time I got up. I didn't even hesitate on what I was about to do; I may not trust Greef, but I'll save my enemies if I can. That's what a healer does. Everyone blinked startled when I approached him. Wordlessly I knelt down beside him and pulled back my hood, letting my hair flow all down behind me. I held my hand, ready to reach for his wound. Unfortunately, Carl stopped me by grabbing hold of my wrist. "No! Don't touch it!" I'm sure he said more for my sake than Greef. But Kuiil was the one to stop Carl. "Wait," he told him.

The stunned Carl reluctantly released my arm and I reached for Greef's arm. Once my skin made contact with his, I drew in a deep, deep breath and shut my eyes. _"Do not be frightened; you are never alone. Remember that whenever it seems that life is too much to bear. We are here- all of us."_ Master Obi-Wan, my lips opened a sliver. I hope I am doing as the Force wills, and you wish…. I want to save him.

Although I was unable to see, I could sense all eyes on us, or rather Greef's now-healing arm. I concentrated, using the Force to heal him and save his life. When his arm was fully intact again, I retracted my hand and opened my eyes- a speechless Greef was staring back at me. I smiled warmly at him; my eyes low and soulful. Carl's jaw was also dangling open dumbfound; even Mando acted astonished. The only one who understood what was going on was Kuiil, who merely nodded my way. I think this event was so shocking in fact that no one said a word for the rest of the night. While I slept on the ground covered by my dark cloak, Mando stayed beside me, keeping watch the entire time.


	34. A Painful Parting

The mood hadn't lightened since last night. Kuiil and I rode on the only blurrg left; well, I rode it while Kuiil walked alongside me and the beast. Greef was ahead of all of rest of us with his cronies; Carl and Mando stayed in between them and Kuiil and I. Greef looked to be quietly conversing with his men, and Mando said something inaudible over to Carl. It took us more than half the day to reach a point where the city was in view. By then, Carl's men where behind us and Kuiil and I had re-joined our companions' sides.

Carl was the first to come to a halt. While facing forward he said: I guess this is it. My head turned to see two of his goons raise their guns and step towards the back of Mando and Carl. What happened next, however, I was both not expecting nor prepared for. Greef shot both of his men in the chest. They fell like flies and soon Greef had two blasters pointed directly at him- not that I noticed. I screamed just witnessing two people die right in front of me and my healing instincts kicked into overdrive. Kuiil watched startled and alarmed as I leapt off the blurrg's back in an attempt to race over to their bodies. He caught me just in the knick of time by grabbing my right arm.

"Saoirse! Stop!" "Let me go! They're dying!" I pleaded, not taking my eyes off the fellows. "It won't help, Saoirse; they're already dead," Kuiil tried to reason with me, holding me back- barely- by the wrist. "You killed them….." My horrified eyes suddenly rolled over to the stunned Greef; I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting me to react that way. By now, Carl had the expression which read unbelievable anger and "I want to blow your brains out"; Mando's was most likely the same.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Saoirse. But there's something you should know," Greef approached the corpuses, rolling one over and kicking the gun out of his unmoving hand. I spun around so to bury my face in Kuiil's chest- it had been tear-stained for the past minute or so. And Greef took the opportunity to turn around back to the enraged Mando and Carl. "The plan was to kill you and take the girl. But after what happened last night, I couldn't go through with it." "So you repay Saoirse by killing men in front of her?" Carl hissed viciously. "I had no choice; it was either you or them. Go ahead, you can gun me down here and now, and it wouldn't violate the code. But if you do, Saoirse will never be safe."

"Get Saoirse out of here, Mando. Leave this one to me," Carl's eyes narrowed onto Greef. His arms shot down at his sides in a desperate fashion. "The Imperial Client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run, but where did it get you?" Greef's voice kept sounding more and more frantic. "This is ridiculous!" Carl's head shot over to the Mandalorian. "Perhaps you should let him speak," Kuiil called from where he was still holding me. I wiped my eyes and gazed back at the three men still alive ahead of us. Greef's and my stares met, and his lips pressed into a thin line. Then his eyes trailed back to the men still aiming their weapons his way.

"Listen, we both need the Client to be eliminated. What alternative is there? You're just going to keep running for the rest of your lives? Meanwhile he's handing out more and more tracking fobs." A pause for dramatic effect. "Look, if you ever want a life with Saoirse, then you need to take him down. The Client won't stop, and her chances of being free and alive diminish every day." Another pause for effect.

"Let me take Saoirse to him, and then you two….." "No," the Mandalorian cut Greef off. "Let's just kill and get out of here," Carl announced. But to all our surprise, Mando was the first to slowly lower his gun. "He's right," he admitted while putting his blaster back in its holder. "What are you doing?" Carl asked him incredulously. "As long as the imp lives, he'll send hunters after Saoirse." "Mando, it's a trap! We can't bring Saoirse anywhere near the Client! Not after this lowlife killed his backup," Carl spat in Greef's direction. "We're not going to bring Saoirse," Mando reassured Carl before addressing his contact.

"Bring me." "Bring you?" Greef repeated surprised. "Tell him you captured me. Get me close to him, and I'll kill him." "What?" I uttered. Wait, what's happening? I blinked in confusion and concern. Mando wasn't…. he's not leaving me again, is he? But….. no; that wasn't the plan. "That's a good idea," Greef agreed to this nonsense. "That is not a good idea. You can't go in the city without me, Mando; it's me they want," I stepped closer to them.

"There's a bounty out for me too. Plus I think the Client wouldn't mind having me hulled in," the Mandalorian eased to me. But I stood firm, staring up at him with big eyes. "Mando, this is insane; I don't like this. It's too risky." "I know you're worried, Saoirse, but he'll be fine. He's a Mandalorian," Carl placed his hand on my shoulder, grinning slightly. I merely blinked back to Mando with now frightened eyes. He stared back at me for a minute, his helmeted head tilting ever so softly to the side. "This is the only way, Saoirse. You're not going back into that city; not with only four of us." "Mando, are…. are you sure about this? I-I don't want anything to happen to you. Please….."

No one said anything for a brief moment, though I did spot Kuiil peer up to the Mandalorian with expressive eyes. Eventually Mando's head gave a small yet finalizing nod. "I will come back," he said directly. "Promise?" I pushed, vainly grasping for a little more security. Despite him not verbally responding, I could read in his body language that he was promising this to me. "Give me your blaster," I'm sure Greef also saw this silent contract between us since he proceeded to hold out his hand for Mando's gun.

Mando handed over his blaster and Carl came to stay beside me. "I'm staying with Saoirse," he proclaimed. "No, go with Mando," I contradicted him. He looked at me startled. "No, Saoirse; I'm not leaving you here miles away from the city like this." "But Mando may need your help," I countered again. Carl seemed….. a little at war with himself when I told him this. His gaze kept shifting between me, the Mandalorian, and Greef. "You probably shouldn't come. That would make them suspicious," Greef tacked on. "I don't care. I want him to go with Mando," I fired back. Carl looked at me, then back at them. Seeing as I wasn't about to let this drop, Mando decided to help my side of the argument.

"Tell them he caught me," Mando instructed Greef. "Fine, then he can bring Saoirse." "No- she goes back in the ship." Oh, that makes sense. Peli fixed the ship's lockdown mode; once onboard it seals shut with a layer of armour and locks that are almost impossible to get through. I'd be safe in there like that, which explains why Mando would even consider leaving me alone on this god-forsaken planet. Greef was still upset with this plan, unfortunately.

"But without the girl none of this works," Greef's hands flew out at his sides again. Mando was having none of it. "I have a plan. Kuiil, ride back to the Razor Crest with Saoirse and seal yourself in," he instructed before turning to me next. "Saoirse, once you're inside, engage ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors." I nodded and Kuiil went over to Mando to hand him something. "Here's a comlink. I will keep Saoirse safe," he vowed, then he came back to stand beside me.

While we only had moments to look at each other, it was enough time for our eyes to metaphorically lock; my lips unconsciously parted a sliver. No… No, I don't want this; I don't want to leave him like this. He's going into the enemy's territory alone… without me. I won't be with him…. My hands balled into fists. Even though he wears a helmet- a literal mask- I can read him like a book; I know him. I felt like I knew him, and also that there was no other like him. No one else like him, anywhere at all.

"Please be careful, Mando," your life is precious to me. More precious than I dare realize unless I think about it. Why was I cursed with this feeling that is so…. natural? Cursed, or blessed. Everyone was watching us, while Mando and I kept our eyes glued on each other. This happened in the span of five seconds, but it felt much, much longer to me. His head nodded in a genuine way. A small, sad grin blossomed across my lips. "Come back as soon as you can to me." "I will," he promised. This made my smile deepen.

I still don't know what the will of the Force is, but I have a feeling it knows what it's doing. It's placed the Mandalorian here, at my side. At my side…. where he belongs by the will of the Force. Maybe not forever, but definitely for now. For as long as possible, if I can help it.


	35. Two Storm Troopers and One IG-11

Kuiil and I had been riding the blurrg for several hours now. My hood was securely covering my head while I sat behind Kuiil, who was driving the beast. It was not a fun trip; blurrgs are not comfortable to sit on long term, especially when they're running.

We had just reached the four-hour mark when Kuiil's comlink blasted a noice. It was loud enough so I could hear from where I was on the blurrg. "Kuiil, are back to the ship yet? Are you there? Do you copy?" That's Mando's voice, my hears perked up. He sounded in a bit of a panic. "Yes!" Kuiil responded. "Are you back to the ship yet?" "Not yet." "What's going on?" I asked, beginning to feel frightened. "Get back to the ship and bail. Get Saoirse outta here; we're pinned down!" "Wait, what?!" My own voice cracked now panicked as well. What does he mean "pinned down"? Did something happen? Did something go wrong? Mando and the others aren't in any danger right now, are they? He doesn't expect us to leave this planet without him, does he? That is so not going to happen!

At some point- fairly soon after the Mandalorian contacted us- two sand bikes were trailing behind us. They were driven by two men in those white suits; the same those guys were wearing the first time we came to Nevarro. The bikes caught up to us pretty quickly; I'm sure Kuiil was aware we were being chased now too. Thankfully, just in the nick of time, the ship came into view and what's more, its door was opened. The robot was nowhere to be seen; I guess Mando's order for it to stay onboard went ignored.

"Kuiil, are you back to the ship yet? They're onto us," I'd never heard Mando's voice so desperate before. It worried me- it worried me a lot. Kuiil didn't say anything and I glanced over my shoulder at the bikes approaching us at top speed. "Kuiil, come in! Kuiil, do you copy?!" To my horror, the white men had almost reached us.

I had a split second to think. If they get any closer, they'll likely kill Kuiil and apprehend me; I'm fairly confident that I'm the one they want. There won't be enough time for both of us to get onboard the ship; they're almost here! Not both of us, but…. My eyes drifted to the back of Kuiil's head. We both won't make it, but I can save one of us. I can save Kuiil if I…. My lips parted a sliver; I doubt Kuiil even realized my arms gave him an extra tight squeeze before pulling back.

Kuiil didn't have time to look or even blink before he was suddenly and quite rapidly expelled through the air. His fumbling body went flying forward, landing inside the ship with a loud thud. As predicted, the moment he crossed the threshold the door zoomed up, effectively slamming shut and locking him in there. Kuiil was the second largest entity I'd ever used the Force to life and move, and the effects were immediate.

As for me, while the ship door lifted up my body fell off the back of the blurrg. I landed in the sand, along with the comlink within earshot. There I laid completely immobile; I was a hair away from passing out. Luckily, or perhaps not so luckily, I didn't fall unconscious, but I couldn't move a muscle in my body. I heard the bikes come to a halt and the voice of a frantic Mando on the other side of the comlink. "Kuiil?! Kuiil, are you there?! Come in, Kuiil! Kuiil, come in!"

I heard feet land on the sand, followed by footsteps coming my way. "Is she dead?" One of the white men asked confused. The second one made his way over for a closer inspection. He saw that I was breathing, and we made eye contact without my head moving. "She's alive," he scooped me up in his arms princess-style. "Kuiil, are you there?! Do you copy?! Kuiil?! Kuiil!" That was the last thing Mando had the chance to say before the white guy crushed to comlink with his boot. Then they both looked down at me currently helpless in this one guy's arms. Yeah, I did this for Kuiil- I elected to save my life, even if it meant I'd be left at the mercy of these losers. That didn't mean I wasn't afraid; I was downright terrified. But there wasn't anything I could do about it; I couldn't even move my fingers and forget about speaking. The only thing I could move was my eyes- they constantly rolled between the two armoured men.

They seemed… very perplexed about the situation, glancing from me to each other in a bewildered fashion. "What's wrong with her?" "Oh, who cares? Let's just get her on the bike and get outta here." "But what about the other guy?" "Him? What's he gonna do? Chase after us? Come on; let's go," he began to head back for the bikes. With one last peak down at me, his friend- I think they were friends at least- followed behind. He set me upright on the back of his bike and bound my hands around his waist. Heh, isn't this a familiar setting? At least Toro had the decency to cover my face to block out any sand. But no such luck with these idiots.

We rode to the same ledge as before- the one overlooking the city. The bodies of Greef's guild hunters were still laying on the ground. We all looked towards the town. "Speeder bikes have arrived at the checkpoint with the asset, awaiting confirmation." It was around this point that I was finally gaining some ability to move my limbs again. I let out a gasp as I wiggled about a little. I guess this annoyed the white man I was presently tied around since he reached back to strike me. It didn't hurt; I think it was supposed to be a symbolic gesture. But I was still astonished and mortified at my first ever hit from well… anyone. No one had ever raised a hand to me before.

"Knock it off," my attacker spat back at me. His friend turned to him, then me; he didn't seem too impressed with his aggressive actions either. "You sure you can hit her like that?" "Yeah, why not?" He countered annoyed. "She's a woman." "No, she's not; she's the asset. Now quiet; I'm waiting for a reply." Nothing for a second. "Waiting for confirmation to continue into town," he pressed the button on his comlink again.

"Uh, that's a go to proceed but I'd advise you to double-check. Moff just touched down and already took out a squad of local troopers," the operator said on the other end. The two white men looked at each other. "Standing by," he then put his arm down. "Did he just say that Gideon killed his own men?" "Oh, who knows? These guys like to lay down the law when they first arrive into town. You know how it is."

My body was quickly regaining control of itself. While these goons conversed, I tried moving my legs and arms; still didn't have total control but could at least lift them slightly. I suppose I must have been shuffling too much because white man sprang his hand back a second time to hit me- it hurt more this time. "I said knock it off." "Uh, I don't think you should do that," his friend cautioned; not for my benefit, I'm sure. "Would you stop worrying so much? She's a person; not a glass doll." "Why's he want her so bad, anyway? She looks like a normal human to me," his friend peered in my direction. "Eh, I don't know; maybe Moff's looking for a concubine. I don't ask questions." His friend nodded as if this made sense. News flash- it did not.

Growing impatient with their idiocy, I twitched my arms once more. His hand rose in reflex and that's when I'd had enough. I gave him a look- about as menacing as I can get, which isn't saying much- and frowned. "Stop hitting me," I stated flatly. Both he and his friend jerked confused and alarmed by this sudden ability to speak on my part. I half-believed they thought I was mute or something. "Heh, she sure told you," his friend jeered, leaning back a little after a moment. "Oh, shut up!"

"But seriously, she looks uncomfortable. Maybe you should untie her." "Did you not just hear that Moff Gideon killed a dozen of his own troopers just to make a point?" "Ok," the second white guy's head fell down in defeat. "I get that point. Do you get the point?" "Yes, I get the point." "Ok." Oh my god, my eyes couldn't have rolled harder. What a bunch of morons. Why do I keep getting abducted by meatheads like these two whack jobs?

No, I was wrong: my eyes could roll more dramatically and did when second white guy began shooting at this tin can out of sheer boredom. Me and the man I was tied around watched pitifully at his lousy marksmanship for a minute; he seriously couldn't even hit once. Boy, this Moff guy will let anyone work for him, won't he? Seeing as there was nothing else to do, his friend pulled out his blaster and began targeting the can as well. Neither of them could strike it. They looked at one another when their ammunition was out, and boredom set in again.

"Should we offer her some water?" Second white guy eventually asked. "Just leave her alone." "Are you thirsty?" It took me a second to realize that he was addressing me directly now. "What did I just say?!" The first white guy fired off angrily. "Well, it's not fair. You've had her this whole time." "I'm making sure she doesn't escape, moron!" "How's she gonna escape? She can't even move- well, much. Anyway, I'm gonna get her some water." "No, you're not." "How come you're calling all the shots?" "You just wanna help her because she's pretty." "No! I just don't think it's fair you get her all to yourself." "Look, I'm not untying her arms until I deliver her to Moff." "Fine, I'll stop asking," his friend got off his bike, clearly upset. My eyes kept glancing between the pair. There has to be some way I can work with this…

"Any update yet?" First white guy asked into the comlink. "That's a negative; still waiting on confirmation. He just killed an officer for interrupting him so this might take a while," the operator replied. They both sighed. "Thank you. Standing by still." "Great, unbelievable." Ok, now's my shot- play on their insecurities. I don't think I can reach the guy currently pressed up against me, but the other one….

"Um, excuse me?" Their heads spun my way in unison. "What do you want?" First white guy groaned. "I thought you said don't talk to her," second white man chimed in. "I said "you" don't talk to her." "Can you lay me down for a second? My body's really starting to hurt," I asked, trying to look as meek and innocent as humanly as possible. "You'll live," first white guy huffed. "Please? I've recently lost the ability to use my limbs and they really hurt if I'm upright for too long. You can keep my hands tied; just lay me down in the sand."

"Yeah, right. What do we look like to you? Stupid?" Uhhhhhhh, do you really want me to answer that? But my gamble paid off; his friend turned to him with a bit of nervousness in his posture. "I don't know….." "You don't know what?" "Maybe we should let her lay down? Who knows how long we'll be here for." "Oh, would you give it a rest? She'll be fine; it's like I said, she's a human- not a doll." "But she could be really sore." Bingo! I've got one on my side now.

"Ah, what do you care? Let her suffer- it's no skin off our backs," first white guy waved his hand in the air. "But it's really, really painful. Please, I'm begging you… I can't run away; that's why you found me laying in the sand. Just set me down on the ground- I won't ask for anything else." "Oh my god," I could practically hear first white man's eyes roll from behind his helmet. "I think we should do it. What's Moff going to say when we bring back an even more injured gir-… er, asset? The last thing you want is to give Gideon a broken….."

"Alright, alright! We'll lay her down, for crying out loud." His friend watched the first white guy untie my hands. As expected, and probably confirmation that I was still infirm to these idiots, both my arms dropped down to my sides like noodles. Seemingly satisfied with this show of submissive dependence, second white guy reached over to carefully lift me up into his arms. He held me for a second, simply gazing down at me. The first white guy waved his hand at him. "See? She's fine; everything's fine." The man holding me went to gently place me down onto the sand; first white man wasn't far behind with the rope in his hands. "She can't move her arms," his friend said like this was the most obvious thing in the world; that tying me up would be pointless. But first white man brushed him off. "I'm not taking any chances."

Before he could reach me, however, the clank of two metallic feet made us all flinch. "Stop that," it gurgled in an equally iron voice. You can imagine how fast they yanked out their weapons and aimed them forward. "Identify yourself!" "I am IG-11. I am this woman's protector droid and require that you remand her to me immediately." Protector droid? I have a protector droid. Wait, didn't Kuiil say something about the robot protecting me back on the ship?

"A protector droid? I thought it was a hunter. Aren't IGs usually hunters?" "Well evidently this one's a bodyguard." The robot, clearly putting up with none of their nonsense, began to step forward. This alarmed the two white men. "I'm sorry, bodyguard, but…. you're gonna have to get outta here," one of the men shot at its foot as a warning. "Are you refusing my request?" It inquired. "No. I'm telling you to get outta here."

"Master, avert your eyes." Master? Oh, wait; that's me! I winced my eyes shut and braced for the horrific sounds that would follow. Bones snapping, men screaming, blasters shooting, and ultimately corpuses falling. They joined the other men left there at the ledge overlooking the city. The carnage was over as soon as it began; the robot was ruthless but fast. My eyes only opened when I felt my body being lifted up into the air once more. The droid was picking me up with its metal hands, and thankfully shielding me from the massacre behind him.

"That was unpleasant. I'm sorry you had to see that." It's apologizing to me? Ok, well I guess anything's possible. It proceeded to carry me over to one of the bikes and set me down in front of it. Then it looked at me. "Where to, Master?" This was the first time anyone has asked me where I want to go since the Mandalorian picked me up on Takodana. And I only had one location in mind. "Take me to Mando."


	36. Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave

"By the way, Master, I brought you something."

My protector droid handed me the weird green light handle thing I dropped on the ship that night. Odd; why would it bring me this? I still have no idea what it is or how to use it. But I didn't ask any questions. Instead, I put it in one of my pockets and the robot tied a blindfold over my eyes. I think we both knew things were about to get messy- the less death and destruction I saw, the better. With me in tow, the droid pressed a button on one of the white guy's sand bikes. In the blink of an eye we were off; the robot driving while I clung to its metallic form. At least my hands weren't tied this time.

It didn't take us long to get into the city actually. And it soon became very apparent why the droid gave me a blindfold- there was lots and lots of blasting going on. I think at some point we were getting shot at; I assume this because the bot lifted me up and spun me around. By now I had regained almost total control of my body again, so I held onto it with gusto.

In like a minute or two after we crossed the city's threshold, the droid stopped the bike. While carrying me in one arm, it gunned down anyone who got in our way. My arms tightened around its body; it sounded like we were in the middle of a warzone. Then, as if to be critically hit in the back, the bot's other arm wrapped around in such a way to shield me; it fell to his knees while protectively covering me with itself. There was this really, really loud gun blast and I had to cover my ears. The robot ran with me before this loud explosion echoed through the whole area.

A man suddenly yelled, and my heart sank. I knew that yell…. That voice was familiar and precious to me. This was followed by another very loud and hot explosion. I was brought inside this place where I flung off my blindfold. To my absolute horror, I found Carl dragging a motionless Mando's body across the floor. Greef was there, not that I acknowledged him. "Stay with me, buddy!" Carl pleaded to Mando. The robot set me down and as fast as my feet could carry me, I was at his side; he was now laying on the floor, still unmoving. "Saoirse?!" Carl and Greef gasped in unison. I guess Greef took one step too close to me because the droid stopped him. "If you go near this woman, I will have no choice but to kill you," it threatened. "I understand! Can you do anything to move the grate?" Greef fired back at him. Meanwhile, I was staring down at Mando with the widest of eyes.

"I have to heal him. Mando, I'm going to heal you now!" I did something I never thought I would do and reached for his helmet. But his hands stopped mine, making me blink at him alarmed. "N-no, Saoirse; it's too late. I'm not going to make it. Go…." "No! There's time; there's time! I can heal you," tears flew off my face as I cried down at him. I then stretched my hand out for his helmet once more, but this time another voice stopped me. A new, very authoritative and frightening voice. It called to me from outside beyond the door.

"Saoirse Jinn- at last, we meet." My hand froze mid-air as my blood ran cold. My eyes stared off into nowhere with my mouth agape in sudden and drastic terror. There was a sinister chuckle which rang through the air. "Yes, I know about you, Saoirse. You've done an exceptional job alluding me thus far. Of course, you weren't alone; I see you've had quite the array of help." "W-who….?" I very nervously asked no one in particular. Who was this man? Why is he talking to me directly? I had a sneaking suspicion that I already knew all the answers to my questions, save why he what he wants with me.

"But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Moff Gideon; officer in the Galactic Empire's intelligence agency- the Imperial Security Bureau." "What's that?" Again, I inquired to no one in particular. Why is he telling me all this? I can't be wasting time with him; I have to heal Mando! Another insidious chuckle reached our ears. "You probably don't understand a word of what I am talking about. I apologize for how severely my men have treated you; my orders were explicitly that you be delivered alive."

It's him, my hand unconsciously reached for the Mandalorian while gawking terrified at the door. He's the one who's sent all those hunters after me; he's the real Client, this Moff Gideon guy. "Now listen, Saoirse. Unless you come out of there- alone- I will be forced to burn you out, likely killing all of your companions in the process." Ok, now he had my full, undivided attention. All eyes were on me while I continued to stare straight at the closed door. "Saoirse, no! It's a trap!" Carl touched my arm desperately. "He's right. You can't trust Gideon; he'll lure you outside and roast the rest of us," Greef tacked on. I wasn't fully convinced however… not when their lives were suddenly on the line now.

A moment of silence passed, and I think Moff was losing his patience. It didn't take long to hear his voice again. "I suggest you don't consider my offer lightly, child. You have the chance to save your friends, and you yourself will not die. You hate death and violence, don't you? Heh, that would make sense, considering your background." "What does he mean? What's he talking about?" My own voice cracked a little. "Saoirse, don't listen!" Carl grabbed hold of my shoulder. But I began to stand up, confused and dumbfounded by this statement. As if he knew he had me hooked, Moff just kept on going.

"They taught you well, your masters; but they clearly did not teach you everything." "M-my masters?!" My hand rose up to my pounding chest. How does he know about them?! "Yes, they would want you to detest killing. After all, your great uncle, Obi-Gon Jinn, was struck down by the Sith Lord, Darth Maul." "N-no…." My lips quivered. Why is he telling me this? I didn't know that my beloved great uncle was murdered…. "And Obi-Wan Kenobi was forced to sacrifice himself to the Force before Dark Vader could strike him down." Who's Dark Vader and Darth Maul? "No! No, stop!" My hands rose up to cover my ears. No, I don't want to hear this; it's painful. I don't want to know this! "Yoda was the only one who became one with the Force on his own terms, but even that was after a lifetime of fighting- killing with his own two hands." "Did he just say Yoda?" A very confused Greef blinked to me. But I was currently in the middle of a meltdown. "Stop it!" I screamed out to Moff. "No, Saoirse! Don't listen to him!" Carl hand both his hands on my shoulders by now. "He's just trying to get inside your head," Greef exclaimed. I could practically feel Moff grin maliciously from behind the iron of the door.

"Everyone you have ever loved has died, and now it's the Mandalorian's turn. He and the others will be burned alive if you don't surrender yourself to me now." "Saoirse, no…. l-leave me," I flinched as I felt something take my hand. I gazed back to Mando to find his hand holding mine. His fingers wrapped around mine, giving them a squeeze. "You leave me… escape while you still can." "Mando, I can't…." "G-go… go, save yourself…." It sounded like it was a real struggle for him to talk. Tears were flowing down my cheeks and dripping onto his helmet. My free hand reached over to caress the side of his helmeted head. "Y-you need to go…. I-I can hold them off while you escape. Let me have a warrior's death and you live, Saoirse." "No…." More tears dripping off my face. "T-this is the way," he softly said. "Mando….." I then laid my upper half onto his body; my hands clung to him. No, I can't; I can't leave him like this. "I'm not going anywhere; not unless you're with me." I told him in a whisper. His hand tightened its grip on mine.

"This is your last warning, Saoirse Jinn." Man, this guy doesn't know when to quit. This only made me cling onto Mando's armour tighter, but of course, he continued. "If you wish to save Din Djarin's life, you'll relinquish yourself to me immediately." My eyes shot open the moment he uttered this. Din Djarin? Did he just call Mando "Din Djarin"? _"I sense the balance between you both; you and Din Djarin." _Master told me that…. back on Takodana. So, it's true then? Mando is Din Djarin? The "Din Djarin"?

When I didn't verbally respond or even move, I could sense Moff's grin start to fade. "Fine then," he hissed in his calm, cool, collected tone. What he said next utterly changed everything for me. "May the Force be with you," he said mockingly. The Force…. My lips parted a silver. _"The Force is energy; the Force is life. You must feel the Force around you, around me; binding us together."_ _"Sense the Force and act according to its will. When you quiet your mind, you will hear them speaking to you." "Follow the will of the Force. It will not lead you astray." _

I see…. I think I'm beginning to understand for the very first time what all my masters were saying. The Force isn't good or bad, but it does have a will of its own. If I follow it, it will guide me to where I need to be. And where I needed to be all this time is by Mando's side…. and him by my side. The Force knew what it was doing when it brought me to Mando- we do balance each other, after all. I need to stop trying so hard to understand the Force and trust in it. For once, I need to simply let it guide me. It led me to Mando; that's all the proof I need that it knows what it is doing.

My eyes drifted from Mando's helmet over to Carl and then Greef. No, I can't let my fear overwhelm me- not now. I can't let myself drown in my fear of losing the Mandalorian. My eyes gently shut as I drew in a deep, deep breath. I must transform this fear I have into love- instead of being afraid to lose Mando, I must simply love him. Love him and let myself act on that love…. _"You lack fear- it is true- and fear is a path to the dark side. But you have a great compacity for love. It is this kind of love- of self-sacrifice- that will make you a good healer."_ My eyes opened ever so softly and seriously. I have to heal him.

Everyone watched as I gave Mando's hand one last squeeze before releasing it. I stood up while looking right at the closed door. My hands rolled into firm fists. The Force is my ally, and a powerful ally it is. If it wants me to keep the balance in the universe by saving Mando and the others, so be it. I follow the will of the Force.


	37. Here, There Was Love

_Flowers…. Tons of pink flowers as far as the eye could see. I stood there with strands of my hair blowing in the warm, spring breeze. As a teenager- throughout my whole life for that matter- I never considered myself to be lonely. I never felt lonely living on Takodana alone; well, being the only being around. It never bothered me that I never knew my parents. I never internalized how truly isolated I was all my life…. _

_A few pink flower petals scattered in the wind all around me; I had the sudden urge to collect all the wilting flowers to place them in water. My eyes lowered a tad as I took in the scenery. I guess I had questions but I never bothered to ask them. It's just like how I automatically obeyed my masters; I trusted them wholeheartedly. They raised me, after all….. I slowly spun around to see all three of them watching me from a short distance- they were looking my way and smiling, each of them. A grin organically bloomed across my lips as I stared back at them. Those wonderful, wonderful individuals… _

_Of course it couldn't stay like this forever. I would grow and eventually meet new people. I would form a different sort of connection and bond. I would offer my healing abilities to new my friends and enemies. Still, I'm indescribably thankful I was privileged to be raised and loved by three Jedi such as my masters. I'll never forever…. Even if things are hard in the future and I'm sad or scared, I'll continue moving forward with the lessons they've taught me. If I should ever feel lonely, and I'm about to lose all hope, the memories I made with them will make me stronger._ Tears…. _No matter how I feel, I know I'm not alone. I'm not alone…._ More tears. _I'm not…. because of you. And I'll give my future loved one shelter, like you've done for me. They'll know they're not alone, because of me. _

"Saoirse!" Carl tried to run over to me. "Stay with Mando!" I commanded back at him. After standing up, I headed towards the still-shut door. Greef watched me alarmed while the robot came to my side. "Master…." It began but I instantly cut him off. "Can you cut the grate?" The droid turned to see the grate which Greef referred to earlier. "Yes, of course," it then went over to start lasering it iron bar by iron bar. "Ah, I love IGs," Greef sighed.

"Saoirse, get away from the door!" Carl shouted desperately. "Carl," Mando reached over to grab hold of the storm trooper's arm. Carl's head shot back at him in a panic. "Leave, now. You make sure Saoirse is safe," I heard this but didn't say anything. I think was Mando was done trying to convince me to go and was getting distraught. "Mando, I…" "W-when you get to the Mandalorian covert, tell them that she was in Din Djarin's protection; t-they'll help you." "Alright," Carl gave the Mandalorian's hand a squeeze. Then he spun to address me. "Time to go, Saoirse. Saoirse?"

Carl audibly gasped when he saw me standing right at the door. I shut my eyes and drew in a deep, long breath. My fists unrolled, letting my fingers fall downward. I feel…. something. I don't think I can accurately describe it. It's like that feeling when you don't want to go down a dark streetway despite not seeing any visible danger. One way just seems safer, righter to take than the other. You don't know where this feeling comes from but it's there. Granted, it was quiet- so quiet in fact that I could barely notice it. But when I really listened to myself, I sensed it was there; it was coming from somewhere deep, deep inside of my very essence. My eyes slowly began to reopen as I gazed out into space.

All of a sudden, I felt something hot, something scalding come directly our way. I see; I understand what they are doing. I don't know what with but they are blasting us with fire. Fire…. I raised my arms up and closed my eyes in a gentle fashion once more. Trust in the Force…. Trust the Force, Saoirse. The door suddenly flew open to reveal another white man on the other side. He had a bit of red on his armour and held a very intimidating gun in both his hands. His reaction to this was startled at first, as was Carl's and Greef's. "What are you doing?!" Greef shouted at me. But I didn't respond, instead keeping my arms lifted up beside me. Trust the Force, follow it; let it guide you.

"Saoirse!" My name echoed through the whole place. Though I now had my eyes shut again, I could sense what was going on around me. The blaster was aimed right at me and the trigger was pulled. My fingers began to tense as I concentrated. Don't harm the man currently fire-blasting me; whatever you do, don't harm him. Instead, move the flames away from all living things- keep them away from everyone involved. If I get burned, so be it. But I must protect everyone else- enemy and ally. I must heal this tragedy…..

That similar sensation from before quickly began to overwhelm me. I went from feeling on assault of scalding heat to sudden gusts of winds banishing the flames. I didn't detect anyone else getting burned, thank goodness; but the effects on me were immediate and serious. My teeth clenched as I did everything in my power to continue using the Force. But I couldn't last forever. As soon as the fire stopped, my body gave in to itself. My legs went totally numb and the last thing I remember is myself falling straight for the ground. I blacked out unconscious before I had time to land.


	38. The Mandalorian Covert

I was jolted awake by this electric pulse coursing through my body. Not heat- electricity. It wasn't painful so much as it was frightening. My eyes shot open as my limbs reactively tensed up. Someone or something held me into place during my convulsion. "Master is revived," a familiar robotic voice announced. "Where am I?!" I gasped, completely in a state of panic. I had no clue where I was or what happened after I passed out. The droid took a step back and I jerked my head up to see Mando's helmet staring down at me. Mando? He's alive? We survived Moff's assault? "Easy, easy," he said in a weak tone. Sounded like he wasn't entirely better to me. I examined the situation to find that I was currently laying on this hard-counter thing in what appeared to be an underground bunker. The Mandalorian was beside me, wrapping both his arms around my upper half. Carl, Greef, and the robot- who had just administered an electric shot to me- were also there, along with…..

There was another Mandalorian here; this one wearing a cape along with the armour. They watched me as I carefully and slowly sat up, Mando retracting his arms a tad. "So, this is the target the Client has sought so hard for? The reason the Imperials are here…." It was a woman; she had a rough, deep female voice. She took one step towards me, not breaking her gaze from mine. "I never thought the day would come… that our archenemy would enter the Mandalorian covert."

"Archenemy?!" All the men present gasped in utter shock. Even I sat up straighter wearing a confused expression. Seeing our collective reactions, the female Mandalorian decided to address me specifically. "Are you not a Jedi?" She inquired. "You're a Jedi?!" Greef turned to me like this was some horrible secret- not to mention crime- I've been keeping. "No! I'm not a Jedi! I'm a healer," my hand rose defensively up to my chest. Her head tilted sideways a little. "Then why do you carry their weapon?" That caused Mando and Carl to look at me with so, so much bewilderment. I, meanwhile, merely blinked puzzled by this question.

"What weapon? All I have is the blaster Mando gave me, and I left that back on the ship," oops. "In your pocket," not missing a beat, her finger pointed to the bulge in my pant's right pocket. Curious, I pulled it out to examine it again. Didn't look dangerous to me. "This? No, it's not a weapon. It doesn't do anything except when I press this button, this long green glowing light appears. It's just a big flashlight or something." But she didn't look convinced; or at least, she didn't act convinced. Mando and Carl glanced at each other confused. The only one who wore a dumbfounded and terrified expression was Greef, who wordlessly gawked at me with his mouth hanging open…. for some reason. The Mandalorian lady straightened up her head. "Show me," her voice was low but very commanding.

My lips parted a tad since I knew I'd have to use the Force to activate it. Still, knowing that she and everyone else were now waiting, I stood up- with Mando's help of course. Once steady on my feet after a few seconds, I held the stick in both hands and concentrated. Within seconds, the same green light stick appeared, making its buzzing sound. While Mando and Carl seemed stunned but perplexed, Greef wore a look of horror; even the Mandalorian lady acted differently. She took another step forward while inspecting the green stick. "Remarkable…." Was all she said.

"Is that why the Imperials are after you? Because you're a Jedi?!" Greef angrily fired at me. "I told you, I'm not a Jedi! I have no idea what this thing is," I retorted loudly; he's not listening to me. "How did you come by this?" The Mandalorian lady asked me next. "Oh uh… my…. master gave it to me not too long ago," I struggled to answer. "Who? Yoda?" Greef's hands rested on his hips, still in an enraged fashion. I shot him a glare but hesitated. "Yes, as a matter of fact- he did. But he knows I'm a healer; he's the one who told me to become a healer! He would never give me a deadly weapon."

Greef shook his head. "It all makes sense now. The healing, your ability to move things…. No wonder the Imperials want you so badly." "I don't understand what you are talking about! This isn't a Jedi weapon…. is it?" I peered back at the stick mildly suspicious now. But that doesn't make any sense…. Why would Master Yoda give me something deadly when he knows I've made a vow never to kill? I don't get it….

"Is this why you didn't tell us you were training to become a Jedi? Because you knew Mando would have killed you on the spot if he had known?" "What?!" Mando and Carl exclaimed. But to our shock, the Mandalorian lady nodded her head in agreement. "It is true. The Jedi and the Mandalorians have been archenemies for centuries. What you hold in your hand is called a lightsaber- it is the formal weapon of a Jedi Knight. Only those who are Force-sensitive can use such a sword." "Y-you know about the Force?" I asked her in a shaky voice. Uh oh; Master Obi-Gon told me not to tell Mando about the Force. Guess it's too late for that now.

The Mandalorian lady looked right back at me and nodded her head resolutely. My eyes trailed off into nowhere thoughtfully- thoughtfully and more than a little confused. She took yet another step my way. "It is a great pride for the Mandalorians that our beskar armour is the only thing which can withstand a lightsaber strike. As your ancestors used the Force, we adapted to equal the Jedi." "So… that's why you made suits out of beskar? Because they can hold up against a lightsaber attack?" I asked, finally releasing the button. It was nice to be rid of all that constant buzzing. Her head nodded once more. "This is the way." Hey, that's what Mando says…..

That's when the Mandalorian lady spun around to go over to a pile of Mandalorian helmets and armour. Hey, where'd all that come from? She brought a few scrap pieces over to this blue fire pit. I thought now was the best time to reiterate my point. "I'm not a Jedi." "No, but you are descendent from Jedi, and you were trained by Jedi spirits." "But… but…." Oh no, now what's going to happen? I gazed back at the uncomfortably silent Mando, who had been watching me this whole time. He must feel conflicted now; his tribe are the archenemies to everyone I've ever loved before? That's why my great uncle to me not to tell him about the Force when we first met…. If what she and Greef said is true, then Mando would have had a duty or obligation the slay me right away, wouldn't he have? Forget about my bounty; the honour of his clan is at stake. But then again, I'm not a Jedi…. Does that even matter though? Should it? _"You balance each other. Remember that when you find reason to distrust him." _Does it matter?

The Mandalorian lady continued to work on her metalcraft. "Saoirse Jinn: your safety deemed such destruction. You were hunted and saved by one of my own…. and you saved him from the mudhorn." Mando and I looked to each other before she went on talking. "A daughter of Jedi and a son of the Mandalorians. This unison defies both your histories; you are descendent from enemies to our kind. And yet, I see a balance between you. Mando took you from your home- by creed, you are in his care." "You wish me to train her?" Mando asked her while pointing at me. "She is not a warrior but a healer; if Saoirse was to enter combat, she would die." I nodded my head at this; seemed right to me.

"You have no choice; you must reunite Saoirse with her own kind," she then informed Mando. This alarmed and astonished me; I didn't think there were any Jedi left. I thought my dead masters were the last of them; they certain never spoke about any other Force-sensitive individuals except Anakin. Anakin….. "Where?" Mando asked for me. "This you must determine," she claimed while pouring this liquid metal into a mould. Then I thought of something. "Couldn't…. Mando just take me home? He doesn't have to search the galaxy for a bunch of individuals I've never met. Besides, wouldn't it be dangerous for him to deliver me to a race of enemy Jedi?" And she glanced over her shoulder to look at me. "This is the way."

While she began pounding on something, and Mando said nothing, Carl finally stepped up to intervene. "Hey, these tunnels will be lousy with imps in a matter of minutes. We should at least discuss an escape plan." "If you follow the descending tunnels, it will lead you to the underground river. It flows downstream towards the lava flats," the Mandalorian lady told us. Carl looked to Greef who motioned his head to the tunnels. "I think we should go," Greef concurred. "Take Saoirse. I'm staying; I need to help her, and I need to heal," Mando stated quickly. "Mando!" My heart skipped a beat at the thought of us parting again. "Go, Saoirse," he fired back at me. "No, I can heal you," I shook my head. "You're not strong enough, and it's too dangerous for you to stay." "But Mando….." I began. "Go," Mando remained firm on his stance. Or he did until….

"You must go; Saoirse is in your care. By creed, until you have returned her back to her home or she is reunited with her own kind, you are as her protector," the Mandalorian lady decreed. No one said anything; Mando and I merely looked once more at each other. "This is the way. You have earned your signet," she spun around holding something with these iron pinchers. She then came over to Mando's side where she could fuse something onto Mando's arm plate. We all watched curiously. When she was done, she gazed up at him.

"You are a clan of two," she proclaimed. Mando considered sincerely for a moment, moving his head with intent. "Thank you. I will wear this with honour." "This is a bond stronger than marriage. You are one whether together or apart, you will share everything….." "And we will raise our children as warriors," I finished her sentence impulsively before realizing that all eyes were on me now. That just came out of nowhere from my lips…. I just thought that's how the verse ended. But the Mandalorian lady turned my way and nodded her head affirmingly. "This is the way."

Wait…. What just happened? Isn't that the Mandalorian's….. marriage vow? But that would mean…..? Did I just get married? My eyes peered to Mando, now staring back at me. My gaze lowered tenderly onto him. Did I just… marry the Mandalorian?


	39. Obsession to Protect

A clash made us all flinch. We spun to where the noise was coming from and it was clear, we'd have company soon. Carl looked to Mando, who gave his head a small nod. "We should go," Greef announced. "IG, please guard the outer hallway. The scouting party draws near," the Mandalorian lady said. Then she turned to Mando. "I have one more gift for your journey. Have you trained in the rising phoenix?" "When I was a boy, yes." "Then this will make you complete," she presented Mando with this weird, jetpack thing. The Mandalorian seemed very happy to get it, judging by the way he gasped "thank you". "When you have healed, you will begin your drills. Until you know it, it will not listen to your commands." "I understand."

Before Mando could take the jetpack, the bright, red light from firing blasters lit up one exit. Carl yanked out his gun very, very quickly, only for moments later for the droid to reappear. "You are protected," it stated in a flat tone. While Carl and Greef seemed mildly relieved, the Mandalorian lady spoke with a worry I'd never heard from her before. "More will come; you must go." "Come with us," Mando told her, but she declined. "My place is here. Restock your ammunition." She then made her way over to the robot. "IG, carry this for Djarin until he well enough to wear it. Now go, down to the river and across the plains." Mando approached her warmly; I watched the two Mandalorian with sympathy. I wished she was coming with us; she'd be safe with Mando and Carl. But alas, I respect her wishes as well. She and Mando stared at each other for a brief yet intense moment. "Be safe on your journey," she said. "Thank you," Mando told her. To my surprise, he came over to where I was standing next. My eyes widened in astonishment as his hand protectively took mine. While I glanced down from our clasped hands up to Mando's helmet, he simply took out his blaster and proceeded to guide me out of there. "Thanks for everything!" I hollered back at the Mandalorian lady. She said nothing, only watching us as we escaped down the tunnel.

"Will she be ok?" I asked no one in particular, though I'm sure Mando would know. "She'll be fine; she's a Mandalorian," Greef replied. He led the way into this hot, scary-looking room at the end of the tunnel. "This is the lava room," he explained to us. I took a moment to notice that Mando was still holding onto my hand, refusing to release it the whole time. Our hands were still locked together as he approached another, smaller robot- this one with a round head.

"The ferry droid is fried." "Yeah but we push the boat out; we can get it to float downstream. Come on," Greef proclaimed like this was a solid proof plan; Carl and Mando didn't act so sure. "Looks old. Will it take the heat?" The Mandalorian inquired. "You got a better idea?" Greef annoyedly shot back. "Guess not," Mando finally released my hand to help him push the vessel out. It sure looked and sounded like they were struggling. "Push!" Greef gasped. Mando, done with using his hands, tried kicking it with his foot- no luck. When that failed, he went off to the side. "Come on! What are you doing?! Push!" Greef was not happy. "Let's try this," the Mandalorian returned with a metal bar. Again, nothing.

I think Carl had had enough by this point. He grabbed this very heavy appearing gun and backed me up with his free arm. "You guys mind getting out of the way?" He asked before aiming it at the ship's side. They got back just in time before Carl shot the boat away from the dock. "Good job," Greef congratulated impressed. "Watch your feet. It's molten lava," the robot decreed. "Yeah, no kidding," Carl rolled his eyes and hopped onboard. Mando waited until he was securely on before grabbing me by my waist. "Carl," he said while hoisting me safely over the lava. I didn't ask or really need him to do that but wasn't going to complain. Carl also took me by the waist and made sure I was safe inside before offering a hand to Mando. Once we were all in the boat slowly, slowly started drifting down the lava river.

Things were uneventful at first but the moment the supposedly busted droid behind us started making noise, all three men had their blasters pointed at it. The robot, who was much taller than originally imagined, powered on and straightened up; it had a metal bar in its hands. It looked right at us. "I don't suppose anyone here speaks droid," Mando stated. "I believe he is asking where we would like to go," my droid responded. "Down river, to the lava flats," Greed tried. It beeped and began to paddle; they all put their guns away. Mando can to stand beside me and I sat down for the duration of the ride.

It wasn't a fun time. The heat radiating off the lava was intense. There were these strange, scary rodent creatures with glowing red eyes trailing us along the edge. I leaned up against the side of Mando's knee for comfort. He gazed down at me and didn't move, letting me stay like that. It took a while for Greef to say: that's it, we're free!

I straightened up and the Mandalorian took a few steps forward; I knew something was wrong by his body language. "No…. no, we're not. Stormtroopers; they're flanking the mouth of the tunnel. It looks like an entire platoon. They must know we're coming." Carl walked up to stand beside Mando; again, he gazed back to me nervously. "Stop the boat," he commanded. But the robot did not stop paddling. "Hey, droid. I said stop the boat." Still no response from our ferrying bot. Carl was getting angry now; I stood up just in time for him to march over to the droid. "Hey, I'm talking to you! I said stop!" My eyes grew wide as Carl pulled out his gun and aimed for the robot's neck. A single shot was fired effectively blasting off its head. Then he looked back my way with a concerned expression.

"We're still moving," Greef examined the situation. "Looks like we fight," Carl let out a defeated sigh. "There are too many," Mando retorted. "Well then what do you suggest? We're not going to surrender with her," Carl pointed in my direction. "They will not be satisfied with anything less than the woman. This is unexpectable. I will eliminate the enemy and you will escape." "You don't have that kind of firepower, pal. You wouldn't even get to daylight," Mando shot him down. But the robot said something surprising. "That is not my objective," it declared, and I blinked to it.

"We're getting close," my eyes then grew at the sensation of Carl taking me by the shoulders and practically shoving me into the droid. He then shot it a harsh glare. "Take her and keep her safe. We'll do the fighting," Carl growled, growing more impatient with the situation. "I still have the security protocols from my manufacture." "Your manufacture?" I asked it. "If my designs are compromised, I must self-destruct." "What are you talking about?" Mando came towards us; I don't think he liked me being so close to the droid anymore. "I am not permitted to be captured. I must be destroyed."

"Are we gonna keep talking or are we gonna get outta here?!" Greef cried. The robot ignored him, presenting Mando with his jetpack thingy. "I can no longer carry this for you, nor can I watch over the woman," we both stiffened as I was gently pushed into Mando by the droid. My cheeks blushed ever so slightly- cause this was the perfect time for that- as I was pressed right into Mando's side. But the Mandalorian was having none of the robot's nonsense. "Wait, you can't self-destruct. Your base command is to watch Saoirse. That supersedes your manufacture's protocol, right? Right?"

A tense moment of silence. "This is correct." "Good. Now grab a blaster and help us shoot our way out," Mando started to turn around until… "Victory through combat is impossible. We will be captured, and Saoirse will be lost. Sadly, there is no scenario where the woman is saved in which I survive." "Listen, you're not going anywhere. We need you; let's just come up with a….." "I must do this. Saoirse sacrificed herself for Kuiil in the desert. It is my turn to sacrifice myself for her." "You saw that?" I asked wide-eyed while all eyes turned to me surprised; though not too surprised.

The droid addressed Mando seriously now. "Please tell me the woman will be safe in your care. If you do so, I can default to my secondary command." The Mandalorian hesitated. "But you'll be destroyed….." "And you will live, and I will have served my purpose." "No, we need you," Mando sounded a bit shook up. This time I reached down to grab his hand; his fingers immediately wrapped around mine, giving my hand a squeeze.

"There's nothing to be sad about. I've never been alive." "I'm not….. sad," he sure sounded sad to me. I leaned my head in to rest on his shoulder in a comforting fashion. "Yes, you are. After all, I saved Saoirse from the stormtroopers and brought her to you. I am valuable to you- you who desires so much for her safety." It said this and despite the sad situation right now, my heart did a leap for joy. The droid turned to face me, and I smiled gently at it. My free hand reached over to caress its steel cheek in a tender manner. "Thank you," I whispered ever so graciously. With one last look my way, it turned its red eyes back to Mando and said its last words to us. "Do not grieve me, for I was never alive. I have never loved or felt regret. But I imagine the proof of love is the obsession to protect."

And with that it dove into the lava, going forward to protect us. We all watched, and I shut my eyes, now waiting for the inevitable; Mando hand was still reassuring wrapped around mine.


	40. Towards You

The boat flowed out of the tunnel and I had to keep my eyes closed- I knew what carnage lay just outside. I could hear the crackling of fire like something was burning; it didn't sound too big though. My eyes did shoot open however, at the sudden commotion all throughout the sky. They opened and I saw this odd flying spaceship with these two very long sideways wings. It was scoring and straight at us.

Of course all men with me had their blasters in hand and were firing at the ship. It did nothing, though it did fire once back at us. Soon it flew away behind this rocky mountain. "He missed!" Greef exclaimed. "He won't next time," Mando tacked on. "Our blasters are useless against them," Carl also added.

"Hey, let's make Saoirse do the magic hand thing," Greef told the Mandalorian. Magic hand thing? I frowned over at Greef as he glanced over his shoulder to face me. "Come on, Saoirse. You're the Jedi; help us out here." "I told you I'm not a Jedi," my frown widened. "Well at least use the Force! Take that thing down!" He desperately pointed to the sky. My head shook. "I can't. I took a vow against killing," my hand rose up to my chest. He huffed looking back forward. "I'm out of ideas." "I'm not," Mando took out his jetpack and put it on.

I watched as the Mandalorian got ready to take off and Carl started shooting at the craft again. "Here he come!" And indeed, the ship was darting right to us. "Look after Saoirse," Mando instructed Carl before flying upwards. "Wait, Mando!" My hand reached out for him, but Carl stopped me. He pulled me into him, wrapping an arm around me as I now witnessed Mando attach himself onto the roof of Moff's ship- I think it was Moff flying it anyway. "Mando!" My voice cracked in sheer horror. He was being flung around like a yoyo.

Somehow, he got himself onto the exterior of the ship's round part; I'm guessing that's where the driver was stationed. But Moff was having none of that, flying around to knock Mando off. While it didn't work, he did manage to cause the Mandalorian to drop a bomb. More spinning, more Mando hanging on for dear life. Needless to say, I was clinging to Carl's shirt for what felt like my own life. Nothing could happen to him- not a single thing.

The Mandalorian must have attached a bomb at some point because he seemed to let go on his own accord. Mando was falling back-towards-the-ground when the ship began to blow up. While Carl and Greef watched the ship streamline down to the ground in the distance, I couldn't take my eyes off the now struggling Mandalorian. He was having trouble getting his jetpack to work again, and he was coming down pretty fast.

Too fast. If he didn't get that thing operating and soon, he'd make a splat on the ground too. It was like my body took on a life of its own, acting on deep innate instinct. Not taking my eyes off Mando, my arms retracted from around Carl and my knees bent. I didn't even have to think about my actions- my body was in complete, unarguable control. My hands rolled into fists as my feet ready themselves. It was too late by the time Carl and Greef noticed me preparing myself in the span of five seconds. My lips parted a sliver unconsciously as my lungs remembered to breathe. _"Sense the Force and act according to its will."_ "Saoirse, no!" Carl's hand made a mad dash for me. But it was too late. Using what strength I had left, I leapt high into the air by means of the Force. I suppose I was still tired from my last bout using the Force, but I literally felt nothing bodily at the moment.

Up, up I went with both my arms flying out to catch Mando. In retrospect, I didn't think this through; my body acted entirely on its own accord. If I had thought about it, I would have realized that Mando weighs a ton more than me, what with his armour and jetpack now. I was by no means strong and I doubt I could use the Force to cushion our fall completely. I don't really know what I expected to do once I caught the Mandalorian in my arms. If anything, I could at least soften his blow a little more- but that was enough for me.

Unfortunately for me, my Force power wasn't as strong as I'd like, but it was strong enough to get me to Mando. Just as I was losing control, the Mandalorian practically flung himself around mid-air so to face me. "Saoirse!" He had enough time to squeak out. Within seconds, our forms clashed into each other; our arms immediately coiled around each other. My eyes grew very, very large once he had me pressed up against him. He's close…. Close enough that I can use the Force. Using the last of my Force power without my passing out or losing the ability to move, I activated Mando's jetpack. There was a bright flash of light, then the sound of flames shooting out the bottom.

Once his jetpack was working again, Mando was able to straighten up and shift his arms so to hold me princess-style. My arms wrapped securely around his neck as my hair flew out everywhere behind me. I looked up at him and he looked down at me. Acting on instinct one more time, my grip tightened around him. Despite everything, I still feel so safe right here, in his arms.

I can't honestly say I've been waiting for this all my life simply because I didn't know I could feel so safe and happy. Sure, my masters made me feel plenty safe, but this was different. Now this is definitely something I will wait for. Til the Mandalorian's back beside me, til he's holding me close like this….. It doesn't matter where he goes or for how long- I will wait for him. Now I know in my heart; I don't even have to think about it, I already know. I will wait for Mando, and run to him with open, waiting arm. Til he's here beside me, til I'm touching him: this is what I will wait for from now on. Til he hears me sigh, here safe in his arms.


	41. A Heartfelt Parting

The Mandalorian successfully carried us both down to safety. Carl and Greef came over to us as Mando carefully set me down on my feet. "That was impressive, Mando; very impressive. Look like your guild rates have just gone up," Greef declared. Mando ignored him, instead turning to Carl. "Anymore storm troopers?" "I think we've cleaned up the town. I'm thinking of staying around just to be sure," Carl replied. "You're staying here?" I asked a bit surprised.

"Well, why not? Naverro is a very fine planet. And now that the scum and villainy have been washed away, it's very respectable again," Greef pointed our way. "As a bounty hunter hive?" Mando shot back unimpressed by his argument. Greef gave him a light tap to the chest. "Some of my favourite people are bounty hunters." While he and Mando discussed that, I kept noticing Carl watching me. Eventually I spun so to face him; it looked like he had something he wanted to say to me. I suppose we had been quite object since the Mandalorian and Greef also grew quiet soon and blinked to us curiously. But Carl didn't move his eyes off mine.

His lips parted as he sucked in a silent breath. "Saoirse, come off to the side with me." This wasn't a request, but I still trailed behind him as he led away from the others. I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to go off alone; what did he want to say to me that he couldn't say around Mando or Greef? Still, I gave Carl the benefit of the doubt and followed him. He went a ways before stopping; we were out of earshot of the other two, but still in their line of sight. The ex-shock trooper stopped and turned right around to face me. His gaze was serious and sincere, yet still tender in its own way. Almost sad I'd say.

"This is it, then….." He began but the remaining words seemed to get caught in him throat; his mouth hung open but no words came out immediately. My own lips opened up a tad, ready for words to fall out of my own mouth. But Carl stopped me with a desolate grin. "I guess there'd be no point in asking now…. You're going with Mando, aren't you?" He asked, much to my shock. I thought it was so evident that I'd be traveling with the Mandalorian. I mean after what the Mandalorian lady said and the fact that we kind of got married…. Wasn't it obvious that Mando and I were staying together? But it slowly began to dawn on me that it may have only been obvious to me….. me and hopefully the Mandalorian.

Once again, my mouth opened and my eyes lowered onto Carl in a kind, trying to understand fashion. "Carl, I….." But he interrupted me with a single head shake; he was still wearing his sad, grieving smile. It was embedded deep in his lips now. "You don't need to say it. I already know…. I know." "You're welcome to come with us, Carl. We'd love having you aboard," I offered, hoping this would cheer him up. His head shook once more, then his eyes moved back to mine; our gazes piercing each other's. "No, it's time for me to move on…. it's just… I wish you were moving on with me."

"Carl!" My hand rose up to my now fluttering chest; my cheeks blushed a light tint of pink. I think I'm starting to grasp what's going on…. and how Carl may feel about me. Any ambiguity was soon banished however when Carl went on to explain himself. "All my life…. everyone I've ever gave a damn about…. I've watched them all disappear right in front of me- one by one. It got to the point where I was convinced I've never get attached to anyone again… It was just too hard when I'd eventually lose them," he chuckled to himself like this was some sick joke. I didn't say anything, letting him continue at his leisure.

"I deliberately kept my distance from people….. And then, who should I happen to run into but you. If I had known that Mando had picked you up that day I went onboard the ship…. You just waltzed into my life and were so damn easy to be around…. Too easy. Why'd you have to make it so simple… and natural?" He asked me in a playful tone, and I didn't answer assuming this was a rhetorical question. This still didn't stop my cheeks from blushing a serious red. He saw this and the corners of his mouth softened in earnestness.

"I never thought it was possible, but you proved me wrong. You're the first thing… person that I've gave a damn about in a long time. And I won't lie…. a part of me wishes that you would look at me the same way you look at Mando." "Carl…." My voice was less shocked this time. But he stopped me yet again. "But I don't want to be the reason you don't look at him like that either. As much as I want you to stay with me…. I know that's not what's best… or right for all involved." My eyes tenderly lowered onto him. Carl…. This sweet, kind man.

Our eyes locked again after a moment; his also lowering gently and shimmering in the corners. "But you're not going to lose me, regardless of who you choose. If you ever need any help, all you need to do is call…. I'll come," he said with such sincerity that it made my heart melt. My own smile widened as I visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Carl. I'm so happy I was privileged to meet you; I don't have many friends off Takodana, but I'm thankful you're one of them." "Me too….."

Carl then took a step towards me; his stare shown down upon me. His lips reverted to one of a serious expression. "This isn't goodbye; just "see ya until next time"." "I'll look forward to it, Carl…." I shut my eyes, readying myself as he approached me with his arms open; they wrapped around me tenderly, pressing me up into his chest. His eyes were closed too, his head rested on mine. "Please take care of yourself, Carl." And he breathed…. He breathed so heavily. "Yeah, you too…. Saoirse."


	42. This Is The Way

I ran into Kuiil's arms when we arrived back at the ship. Mando was shocked and relieved to see that he was fine; it appears that after I sent him flying into the craft, it did its job well and protected him. I told Kuiil all about our "adventure" during the ride back to Takodana. We dropped him off at his place, departing after we said our goodbyes. Then Mando drove for a short distance; much shorter than I was expecting. We landed and I blinked to him confused. His helmeted head turned back my way, not saying anything right away.

"W-where…..?" I didn't have to finish my sentence for him to know what I was getting at. The Mandalorian got up out of his chair and went to open the front door. My face morphed from one of puzzlement to astonishment and sudden delight as I came forward to see where we were.

Home! My home! I was home since he first came here; just as Master foretold, I was back! My head shot over to Mando very, very excitedly. He wordlessly motioned for me to go forward, which I happily complied. Oh, the place was just as gorgeous as I remember it! Bright, endless blue skies with nearly a cloud; lush, green grass that felt so good against the skin; the warmth of a calm, gentle summer breeze; and flowers…. so many pink flowers. With one glorious smile at the Mandalorian, I ran off the ship to randomly wander all about. My eyes went everywhere, from the valley, to Mando, to the spring, and back to Mando. He merely watched as I scampered around through the grass, letting my hair fly in the wind.

"It's beautiful, Mando!" My hands clasped together so wonderfully. My feet kept skipping through the grass, careful not to step on any flowers. I did find one blossom which had fallen from a nearby flowering tree. Tenderly, I scooped up the pink flower- not too unsimilar to the one against the Mandalorian's breast plate- and brought it to the pond teeming with warm water. My fingers let the flower fall bottom-first onto the surface where it bobbed nicely. Then I turned back to Mando who was now approaching me; he was coming over to my side.

My smile intensified onto him. "Oh, thank you, Mando…. Thank you so much for bringing me here," I honestly felt on the verge of tears. It was so kind of him to bring me back home before we began our long journey into space. A tear did drip down my face when he reached down to take my hand. I observed perplexed as he brought it up to put something in my palm; it felt hard and smooth. My hand opened up to reveal a weird-looking pendant attached to a necklace. Of course I looked up to him still confused but his body language remained firm and true.

"It's the Mandalorian emblem," he explained in a tender tone. "You want me to wear this?" My eyes shown up at him. It took him a second to respond but he did…. he responded in a voice that was so gentle and passionate, it made me weak at the knees. "Yes…." I nodded, now full on crying. Mando then took it from my hands and proceeded to place it over my head; I moved my hair out of the way. Afterwards, we stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and even that was too short.

Like clockwork, Mando's head moved in to rest against my forehead as I leaned into him. My lips parted as I reminded myself to breathe, and my eyes closed in the most adoring fashion. I didn't know it was possible to be this happy. One of my hand rose up to press on the breastplate over his heart. Mando's fingers reached up to brush a few stray hairs off the side of my cheek; only then did my eyes reopen. Open again to see this beautiful man…. this beloved Mandalorian. His thumb ran over my cheek again and again, wiping away the constant flow of tears. My other hand came up to rest on the back of his helmet, keeping him securely there so near me. "We are one…." I uttered more softly than I've ever said anything. "This is the way," he sighed with such happiness, and I started weeping all over again.

The End.


	43. Thank You for Reading!

Thank you so much for reading! I sincerely hoped you enjoyed the story. If you want more Mando/OC stories, please let me know! I have read all your comments and appreciate all your support. Lovely readers like yourselves make me want to continue on writing.

Thank you again. I had a lot of fun writing this fic and hope to have more out in the future. Until then!


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